You know what makes us Sepia Mutiny Bloggers angry? We spend 24 hours a day blogging from our world headquarters in North Dakota for no pay. That’s okay. Some people don’t like our opinions. That is okay too. What really irks us though is when REAL journalists “borrow” story ideas from us without in some way acknowledging our existence. As bloggers, linking back to the original source is a requisite. On the flip-side, we will often blog about some topic on our site, only to see it a day later in some “legitimate” newspaper without any credit to us. This next example however, is just flat-out fake journalism based on content from our site.

Here is a comment that our own Manish Vij made on my entry about a racist city councilman in Orange City, FL:

Manish Vij on November 2, 2005 11:48 PM · Direct link
Wow, what an ass. Why not send Sherrill a polite, firm note: donsherrill@earthlink.net

Keep it clean, folks.

Later on Manish sent out an email over the South Asian Journalists Association listserv:

An Orlando city councilman made some incredibly insulting remarks about his Indian-American election opponent. Apparently his knowledge of geography is shaky… You can email him at: donsherrill@earthlink.net. Be firm but polite— keep it clean.

[Later] Sorry, folks, I meant Orange City, Florida.

Now, here is a quote taken from an article titled “Anti-Indian slurs mar US city council elections” about the same councilman, which appears in India’s Daily News and Analysis (DNA):

“I think it is important that Sherrill understands that he has offended Indians. We are inviting everyone to email him at donsherrill@earthlink.net. Be firm but polite — keep it clean,” said Orange city resident Manoj Vij. [Link]

Uttara Choudhury
Saturday, November 05, 2005 09:01 IST

See anything strange folks? I will bet my left nut that there is no Manoj Vij in Orange City, FL. I will bet my right one that this reporter created a fake source with a fake quote and forwarded it to his/her editors by using Manish’s comment.

From DNA’s website I know the following about them:

Diligent Media Corporation, which owns DNA (Daily News & Analysis), is a joint venture between two industry majors - the Dainik Bhaskar Group and Zee TV. With a reach of more than 120 countries and access to more than 250 million viewers globally, Zee TV has created a strong brand equity and is the largest media franchise serving the South Asian diaspora with presence in major global markets, including Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, the UK, the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa. The Group has transformed itself into an integrated media conglomerate with operations spanning the entire media spectrum.

The Dainik Bhaskar Group has soared to the top of the print media industry in India with its flagship Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar (India’s No. 1 Daily Hindi Newspaper), and the Gujarati frontrunner, Divya Bhaskar. While Dainik Bhaskar has a big presence in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, Divya Bhaskar is the largest circulated regional daily in Gujarat.

Targeted at a young readership, DNA is the voice and soul of Mumbai. Through news, views, analyses and interactivity, DNA provides readers with a composite picture of Mumbai and the world. Its interactive platforms seek to bring the reader and surfer at the centre of its news activity. [Link]

Anyways, I am hoping that our brother and sister bloggers in India can use this to help keep their papers accountable.