Have you heard of "churnalism"?

Sometimes newspapers base a news report on a press release. Nothing wrong with that when the newspaper makes the source clear to readers by including this line (or a variant) at the appropriate place in the report: "...according to a company press release."

But what happens when a news report based on a press release and using sentences from the press release does not acknowledge the source? And, worse, the reporter actually takes a byline for it? (This happened to me once — a press release I sent out to Bangalore newspapers on behalf of Commits was reproduced almost verbatim in The Hindu with the reporter attaching her name at the end.)

That is called "churnalism". Also known as "cut-and-paste journalism".

Or, if you prefer a more refined phrase, you engage in "churnalism" when you rework news articles from press releases.

I first came across this term on the International Journalists' Network, or IJNet. The website offers a slew of resources for journalists, both newcomers and veterans, including tips on reporting and editing, and news of scholarships and job opportunities. Along with Poynter, IJNet is the go-to site for anyone serious about a career in journalism.

Now, back to "churnalism". In a recent post on IJNet, Dana Liebelson has profiled the website that exposes cases of "churnalism". Liebelson followed up by contacting a reporter whose story in The Guardian on a supermarket chain "had 1,479 characters overlapping with the press release".

Liebelson writes:

The circumstances under which she says it was written will sound familiar to many staff reporters.

“It was a company announcement, it was new and unexpected so we wrote a straight news story like everyone else,” [Julia] Kollewe told IJNet via email. “Also bear in mind that it was a Sunday for Monday story so there were fewer opportunities for original reporting. There was one reporter (me) who wrote everything that day. You can rest assured that not all stories are like that.”

So what are the lessons to be learnt from this particular episode of "churnalism"? One, do not pass off a press release as your own work. Two, there will be work pressure tempting you to pass off a press release as your own work — figure out how you are going to deal with it. It may not be easy but it's not that difficult, either.

• Thank you, Shruti Upadhyay (Class of 2005), account manager with Edelman India, for the IJNet tip-off.
• Also read: Turning dross (from a press release) into gold (news that readers will want to read)