Quicklink: Special Moments In Internet Plagiarism Edition

DNAINFOsc

Hmm. Something about this article seems eerily familiar. Oh wait, I remember! I emailed the good news about Jonathan and his $99.00 a night RV (all the way down to the baby wipes) on July 19th to Queens Crap. 10:34 PM, to be precise.

NYS to QC email July 19 2015 1034 pm 600

Queens Crap, in turn, published it. YESTERDAY. To whom shall I send an invoice for my research Ms. Dai and/or DNA.info?

UPDATE, 10:17 PM: it would appear that Curbed has given proper attribution (if not a link-back) to the proper sources. Ms. Dai has been asked for comment. Repeatedly. *chirp* *chirp*

UPDATE, July 22nd 1:32 PM: It would appear that Gothamist and the New York Daily News have jumped on the band wagon. So to speak. I have been assured by Ms. Carlson the Gothamist article will be amended so as to reflect the true sources. This leaves the latter. As for Ms. Dai, she claims that the editorial staff at DNA.info made her drop the sources. Pretty funny since, after being called on it, they have seen fit to mention them now. This is shit you, as “consumers” of “news”, should think about…

Urban Artifacts: Hang On Baby…

Greenpoint, 11222

This (lest any of you are wondering what “this” is, they are pig’s feet) was (once again) brought to my attention by the author of this mischief (which came to pass July 2013*). Naturally (and in the interest of due diligence) I asked this person to tender his/her thoughts. They are as follows:

Just that the rest of him was delicious we were at a pig roast at (excised) and for some reason I felt the need to take them – just spiraled from there!

So there have you. Speaking as a vegetarian I do not necessarily endorse this act— I am simply passing along the “facts”.

Williamsburg, 11249

I do not think any explanation as to the nature of these objects is necessary. Nonetheless, these photos (which were taken today) bear testement that the north Brooklyn dildo feral epidemic is much more pervasive than I initially thought. The humanity— (or at least a vital component of it)! Note that I have seen fit not to disclose the locations of these hilarious items. I can assure you, gentle readers, I have a very good reason for this. It is as follows:

  • On February 23rd of this year I blogged a rather curious renovation in Long Island City. I christened it the “Lego House”. This garnered attention from both Brownstoner Queens and Curbed. Both of the previous saw fit to follow what is considered to be proper “Netiquette”: cite yours truly. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Fox News (no surprise there) or the New York Daily News— both of which saw fit to “amplify” the news about this most curious domicile on March 5th. The latter simply referred to me as a “sympathetic blogger”. I am guessing the rationale for not citing my blog was that their readership would find its url objectionable. Having had my fair share of hearing this as a justification for plagiarism over the years, I have a mirror site with a much less “offensive” url: www.thatgreenpointblog.com. But I digress. Let’s continue!
  • On January 11th of this year I visited a buddy of mine who happens to be employed at a business located at the corner of North 6 Street and Bedford Avenue. She asked me if had had seen something rather curious gracing the (I presume) telephone wire thereabouts. This:

  • Given this is not the kind of thing one sees every day (at least in North Brooklyn— in the East Village it is fairly commonplace) I took ample photos and blogged Spiderman and his “companion” immediately upon arriving home. Therein I wrote:

…Per the person who brought this to my attention, this hilarious item not only survived the recent blizzard, but has graced this intersection for at least three months.

Once again: this post came to pass on January 11th and therein it was established that this has been around for at least three months.** Do the math. Following me so far? Good. Let’s continue some more!

  • Now let’s jump forward to March 6th. Better known to yours truly as the day after one of— if not the most appalling— “community meetings” I have had the misfortune of blogging. Did the New York Daily News deem a number of (purported) community groups in north Brooklyn effectively voting to disenfranchise themselves in an election that was (and I am being very diplomatic when I write this) highly “irregular”— and predicated (if not spoken, understood) upon what is happening regarding the Greenpoint Boathouse— well, “news”? No they did not. Rather, they saw fit to publish this:

NYDNsc

Note the highlighted passage. I can only wonder exactly how they came to guesstimate this date. Here perhaps? Here’s the deal:

  1. If you want to use my web site as a news source there is no excuse for not citing it. Methinks I have already established why.
  2. If a “news outlet” can see fit to publish a news item with a pixelated penis, I fail to see how the word “shitty” is even an issue. Really.
  3. I have grown to accept that being credited for my work is an exercise in futility. However, I can make “cherry picking” news items from my blog a mite bit more challenging! Hence:

I am not disclosing where today’s “urban artifacts” are located. I do not receive compensation for what I post on New York Shitty. The “reporters” at the New York Daily News, Fox, et. al. do. Go get ’em boys (and girls)! There’s “news” to create!

*Just in case our local news outlets elect to make hay of this in lieu of, say, actual events that impact peoples’ lives on a real, lasting and fundamental level.

**NOTE: I did a follow-up post on Valentine’s Day as well. It struck me as being appropriate.

 

Spotted At 984 Manhattan Avenue: WPIX

Today yours truly decided to take it easy and knock around the Garden Spot. You can imagine my surprise when I spied a television crew on Manhattan Avenue between Huron Street and India Street. It was Greg Mocker from Channel 11, and yes, he was interviewing people regarding the “beeping” fliers yours truly wrote about yesterday. For shits and giggles I decided to hang around and watch him at work. Hilarity ensued. (TEASER: Those of you who are fans of our Community Board’s Public Safety Chair— and you know who you are—  will be pleased to know he makes a cameo appearance at the very end!)

Here’s the deal, folks:

1. Aside from flat-out lying to a chap he was interviewing about the provenance of the story he was “reporting” I find it rather sad that this is the kind of “new item” that apparently merits the professional media’s attention nowadays. There a lot of great stories to be found in Greenpoint. This is not one of them. So much for the media being the “watch dogs” for the people.

2. Those of you who live in the area know (as I do) that the gentleman he is interviewing is not normal. He is very nice, to be certain but I do not know if he is merely learning disabled, has a speech impediment or is struggling with addiction (as many people hereabouts are)— or all of the above. For this reason I find it utterly reprehensible that Mr. Mocker would consider subjecting this man to media attention (and therefore ridicule). This chap cannot help being what god made him. Therefore, it would seem to me that the responsibility falls on Mr. Mocker— as a human being— not to exploit this gentleman’s shortcomings. But this seems to be what he was up to and as such he is putting a “face” on this community that is not only highly inaccurate, but quite frankly also insulting. We come in all shapes and stripes here.

UPDATE, 10:24 p.m.: I have word from my buddy Kevin over at Forgotten-NY that yours truly was given props (albeit as “thatgreenpointblog”) from Mr. Mocker himself! In addition our Public Safety Chair makes a rather amusing appearance. See for yourself:

As you can imagine I am very pleased by these developments. However:

1. I doubt I would have been credited had the above exchange not taken place.

2. I would be really, truly grateful if Mr. Mocker would cover more substantive issues in my community moving forward. And believe you there are plenty of those to be found!

Miss Heather

Quicklink: From Reuters

April 13, 2011 ·
Filed under: Plagiarism 

Yesterday yours truly was contacted by a reporter from Reuters named Anthony DeRosa. He was working on a tome about how the mainstream media plagiarizes blogs. As you can imagine, gentle readers, I had a great deal to say about this phenomenon. Well, I am pleased to report this article is online and lavishes a great deal of attention on— or at least links heavily to— yours truly. Enjoy!

Miss Heather

LAST GASP: All The News Fit To Steal!

I am seriously considering adding this as a byline to my humble blog after having the following turd brought to my attention by buddy across the creek: Queens Crap.

The Crapper writes (in regards to the above colossal piece of crap):

You mean January 25th comes before February 3rd? Damn.

Not according to CBS 2. Follows is a time line of my coverage of this story. Read it and weep.

January 24, 2011: I am tipped off by a reader and compose a blog post to go up at 5:34 EST January 25th. I follow up with Community Board 1’s Transportation Chair, Karen Nieves, to get her take later in the day. She is kind enough to clue me in on the situation and I update my post accordingly. This post was linked to by Brownstoner on January 25th at 8:30 a.m.
January 28, 2011: I am informed of the Community Meeting about said project by Ms. Nieves at 12:38 p.m. I gladly post it at 1:39 p.m.
February 2, 2011: I attend said event, film it and blog it. If you skip to 1:23 in this video (which was uploaded February 2nd) you can see the cameraman from CBS setting up the microphone for the representative of the Department of Design and Construction. The audience asked if it was a public mike. It was made clear this was for CBS. My post was linked to by Brownstoner on February 3, 2001 at 8:30 a.m. and by A Short Story at 10:54 a.m.
February 11, 2011 at 11:37 a.m.: I announce the plan has been tabled and update my post as I learn more details. I made my final update at 3:23 p.m.

And then CBS 2 “breaks” the news (once again) at 7:08 p.m. I have taken the liberty of bringing CBS 2’s “blog amnesia” to their attention via comments.

This has yet to be approved. I doubt it will.

If the wholesale and flagrant editorial vandalism (as coined by Bucky Turco at Animal New York)  of “neighborhood blogs” by mainstream media outlets offends you, gentle readers, I would very much appreciate it if you would follow suit. Seriously folks, this is downright laughable.

Lastly, had CBS 2 actually cared about the facts instead of generating hype (READ: page views) they would have, should have, mentioned the houses on Monitor Street (and the stoops which accompany them) would have been assessed on a case-by-case basis. That’s the general impression I had after attending and filming the meeting on February 2, 2011. In fact, I find most of CBS 2’s “reporting” in this feature questionable. Then again, the truth doesn’t generate page views. Distorting the truth and sensationalism does.

Miss Heather

P.S.: Thanks for reading, CBS 2! I am really enjoying the comments you have seen fit to approve (as opposed to mine). For example, Annie’s charming missive as highlighted below.

It would appear “hate speech” passes muster, but calling your organization out on a crime of the pen, if you will— that being blog poaching— merits censorship. I want to personally thank you, CBS 2,  for providing the final nail in the coffin which contains my contempt for and distrust of televised “news”.

Quicklink: An Open Letter to the Community Newspaper Group

February 4, 2011 ·
Filed under: Brooklyn, Plagiarism 

This item has been brought to my attention by my buddy down at BK Southie. He writes:

Heather,

The below story is posting on my site at 7am on Friday. But I know you both love a good blogger-hearts-the-newspaper-that-copies-from-him story, so I’m sending you the early edition.

Follows is the introducttion/a teaser:

Dear Community Newspaper Group,

Thank you for reading.

I genuinely mean that. I’m not bitter at all about the story and feature ideas you’ve taken from this site without credit. In fact, I really think that it’s fantastic that a mere amateur writer such as myself can make such a meaningful contribution to a cog in the News Corp engine…

Yes dear readers, it would appear my friend down south has had the pleasure of being poached. Repeatedly. Do take a moment to give his tome a read. It’s a hoot!

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Day Ender: Mixed Signals

January 23, 2011 ·
Filed under: 11211, Plagiarism, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

Speaking as someone who has seen many “mom and pop” businesses pushed out of north Brooklyn due to gentrification, you really have to admire this brave bodega’s brutally honest— if misspelled— attempt to reach out to all market demographics.

Miss Heather

P.S.: This post goes out to my buddy Bucky Turko over at Animal New York for at long last getting due “attention” from the New York Post. You know you’re doing something right when Newscorp’s happy foot soldiers troll your blog for news leads!

Quicklink: Animal New York Gets Poached!

Many of you who have followed this blog over the years have undoubtedly noticed that a number of stories broken by yours truly have a strange way of finding their way onto the pages of Newscorp’s manifold publications within a matter of hours/days/weeks— often as “exclusives”. As you can imagine I find this phenomenon very interesting. What’s more, I can assure you it is not a coincidence. In fact, one of their own reporters even admitted as much! Alex Ginsberg comments (regarding my reporting about Cutting Edge Fitness):

Post policy prevented me from crediting you in print. Allow me to do so now. You did a fantastic reporting job. All I had to do was follow your steps (and make a few extra phone calls).

I won’t discuss at length the policy of not crediting blogs (or anyone else). I’ll just briefly explain that as long as we can independently verify every bit of info, we don’t credit.

You will find that the Daily News observes the same policy, but the Times does not. (They often write an explanatory phrase like, ‘The investigation into Mr. Spitzer was first reported in the New York Post.’ That’s not a real one. I just made it up. Although I would note that another Times policy would prevent them from actually printing the name of your blog, presenting them with an unresolvable conflict between two inflexible rules.)

Looking forward to “amplifying” more of your good work in the future.

So you can imagine my dark amusement when I stumbled upon the above item from Animal New York today. A very angry Bucky Turco writes:

While it’s common knowledge that the New York Post often rips off story ideas from local blogs—just ask editors from Gothamist, EV Grieve, New York Shitty, Vanishing New York, Sheepshead Bites and a handful of others—their latest article on the bombing of the Bowery mural, which was basically lifted from several ANIMAL posts, was particularly egregious…

You can read the whole sad story by clicking here. In closing, I would like to leave you with this quote from Newcorp’s spokesperson, Suzi Halpin:

The New York Post credits blogs, bloggers, and other media all the time, as our readers know.

Except when they don’t. If the Post followed the above policy to the letter their readership would quickly comprehend exactly how much of the content they are reading has its provenance from online/alternative/independent media outlets (READ: blogs). Welcome to the club, Bucky— and by all means keep on writing! Dozens of reporters depend on people like you and me for their livelihood!

Miss Heather

From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part III: Deja Vu

December 21, 2010 ·
Filed under: 11211, Plagiarism, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

Eryana writes (in an email entitled “Bayard Balcony”):

was covered on Fox News…just now made the front page of Yahoo! News no less.

as far as i know you were the first to cover this, correct?  nice to see there are some fans of your blog @ Fox News, and that you’re doing their work for them.

Indeed. I take it was a slow news day, Rupert?

UPDATE, December 21, 2010 7:57 p.m.: it would appear Fox News’s video is quite popular.

224,629 319,610 539,111 page views and counting. Impressive. Where’s my cut of the revenue you undoubtedly gained as a result of this, my work, Fox News? Yahoo? Anyone?

Miss Heather

P.S.: I can only hope Suzi Halpin is trotted out (once again) to explain this gaffe. E.g.;

The New York Post credits blogs, bloggers, and other media all the time, as our readers know.

New York Shitty Day Ender: 14 Bayard Street

(Or: Rapunzel Special)

Rounding out today’s postage I leave you with this absurdity from 14 Bayard Street (the final addition— and thank god for that— to Karl Fischer Row). Me (to my friend Triborough):

It’s pretty impressive that this building isn’t even inhabited yet, but the balconies are already rusted.

Pre-rusted so you don’t have to!

He replied. To wit I pointed out the obvious:

I wonder what is up with that top balcony? Is this like in Albania where they used to simply leave the top unfinished with rebar sticking out so they can come back and add another floor later? We must look at the front of this building!

And so we did.

Let me guess: the owner of this building has a friend in the balcony business. It went something like this:

You want balconies? I’ll give you balconies! Meet me under the BQE at 3:00 a.m. I have a truckload of ’em!

To wit Triborough presciently replied:

Maybe it is like the spare tire for a car? If one breaks they have one ready to replace it?

Indeed. This is what happens when you “design” and build your King’s crap by the yard. The Balkan balconies of yesteryear can be yours in Williamsburg today, dear readers— for a price. I can hardly wait until this gem hits the market!

UPDATE, December 21, 2010: It would appear that Fox News wasted no time sending out a television crew to “get the scoop” on this most important news item. Read it and weep.

Miss Heather

P.S.: This building has a “Partial Stop Work Order” on it— but not for this non-balcony!

Point here, click and see for yourself!

  • NYS Flickr Pool

    Thompson and Broome Streets20240910_122247Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue StationThe Friends Forever Bench #GillieandMarc #TravelEverywhereWithLovecallbox, decoratedthe colossus of the bronxJustice by Carole A. Feuerman II
  • Ads