www.inkthinkerblog.com — A colleague on one of my discussion lists inquired about how ethical it is to use the same set of research and information to write multiple articles, specifically in the context of using research and contacts gathered during a commercial assignment to write a journalistic piece.
Here’s my take:
You absolutely can do journalistic work and commercial work if you want to do both. The only thing you can’t do is publish proprietary information that you have solely as a result of a commercial relationship with a client (that would be anything covered by an NDA or general good ethical practices). Any research you do, any on-the-record interviews, anything like that is completely acceptable to use in any format.
How would writers resell articles otherwise? If they had to start fresh with every single solitary sale, this biz wouldn’t be practical. One interview can be used for dozens of articles. When you research, the knowledge you gain becomes your own (of course you still have to cite it!). When you do the work, you can apply it however you feel is appropriate within the confines of the law.
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t do anything you’re not comfortable with — including repurposing material. That being said, I see absolutely no reason why you can’t use your corporate assignments as inspiration for journalistic pieces, and no reason why you can’t get extra mileage from research you’ve done in the past regardless of the context.
Thoughts?
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I think the best rule of thumb is still the one that asks:
If you are the reader, and you paid good money for the magazine in which each article appeared, would you feel ripped off by reading the same content twice?
So if your new article is different enough that the same reader would be happy to see it “again,” you’re in good shape.
(Though of course your observation about not using protected information is a no-brainer too!)
This is a great comment, Barb. The person who inspired this article was asking specifically about writing an article for a specialized article, and then using some of the research and sources for a different specialized audience or possibly a general audience. For her, it was unlikely that the same readers would stumble across both articles. Your comment brings home the idea of repurposing for folks who may be writing for inter-related or overlapping audiences. Thanks!
Kristen
kristen@kristenkingfreelancing.com