MEDIA: New York Times Steals (Back) From Me

Besides a quote from Dave Levin and a nice picture of Kashi Nelson, the KIPP teacher who belatedly changed her mind about unionization, yesterday's NY Times story about the KIPP AMP mess (here) didn't seem to add much to the story I  reported last month (A Teacher Changes Her Mind). Yes, reported.  Take a look and I think you'll see what I'm talking about. 

To be sure, I would have loved some acknowledgment for having been first to report this.  My scoops are rare, since I do so little reporting.  Then again, everyone knows that big papers don't like to credit competitors who beat them to a story, especially annoying little blogs.  Things like this happen all the time. 

And of course, I steal stuff from the Times every day, including for example this nice picture of Kashi Nelson, the KIPP teacher who belatedly changed her mind about unionization. So I don't like it, but I guess it serves me right. You know I broke this story.  They know, too.  They're probably just trying to even the score. 

Comments

[Times reader]

I wouldn't take credit for that piece-of-crap story if I were you.

[Stephen Downes]

Did you break the story, or did someone call you (or email you) to tell you there was a story? In order to 'break' a story, you have to uncover something that was being hidden, rather than relay something somebody wants told.

Being the first to carry some political announcement (which is what the story appears to be from here) doesn't count as 'uncovering'. Or, for that matter, 'covering'.

p.s. Your system is rejecting my perfectly valid email address, stephen@downes.ca as invalid - presumably because it doesn't end in .com or .edu

[alexander]

no one handed me the story -- i called to check in on kashi and found out what happened.

it's not really about the quality of the story, it's about the sequence of events.

a quick google search for kashi nelson's name would have turned up my story, whatever you think of it.