Coincidence? We Think Not.
by John Weckerle
Update: I met with Wally Gordon after this article was written, and Mr. Gordon explained that the appearance of the subject material was inadvertent. The Independent printed a clarification of the source in their next edition.
We would like to point out to our readers the striking similarities between the story titled “Free concerts in Mountainair” on page 10 of the April 15, 2009 edition of The Independent and our article, “Spring Must Be Here…,” published a week earlier. We’d like to point out specifically that the similarities are very striking – as striking as striking can be. Apart from deletion of a couple of phrases and insertion of the word “concert” which was inadvertently omitted from one of our sentences, one might be tempted to think that The Independent’s article was simply lifted from NM-Central.com – without permission.
There is an old saying: “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.” In the case of published material, however, that particular brand of flattery is illegal. We’ve sent a “cease and desist” message via e-mail to The Independent’s editor, Wally Gordon, demanding payment and an apology. We will keep our readers posted (pun intended) regarding The Independent’s response. We’re not sure whether they’re reading their e-mail today, but we think it’s a pretty good bet that they’re reading this. We’d like to suggest that The Independent be a little more careful in this regard in the future – or similarities may not be the only things striking.
