Traoré Abou, a journalist working with the privately-owned Le Jour Plus newspaper has been suspended by the National Press Council (CNP), the statutory press regulator, for plagiarism.
According to the MFWA’s monitor, Abou has been suspended for three months and his professional journalists’ card has been withdrawn. SAEI Press House, publishers of Le Jour Plus, has also been fined an amount of One Million CFA Francs (about US$ 2,000) for publishing the article.
According to the monitor, the CNP in a communiqué issued on September 13, 2013 explained that Abou published verbatim an article originally authored by Atta Doumbia, a journalist with the privately-ownedNouveau Reveil newspaper, without acknowledging the source.
Doumbia’s article was published in the January 22, 2013 edition of the Nouveau Reveil.
“Although the reproduction of a colleague’s article is not forbidden, it should, however, comply with the requirements under Article 3 sub-section B of the code of ethics which states that – a journalist who reproduces an article written by a colleague must provide information on the author of the article, the date of publication of the said article as well as the issue number,” read the communiqué.
Thus the CNP decided to suspend and fine the journalist and the publishers of Le Jour Plus respectively, for failing to comply with this requirement.
For more information please contact:
Kwame Karikari (Prof)
Executive Director
MFWA
Accra
Tel: 233-0302-24 24 70
Fax: 233-0302-22 10 84
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