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Thank you Barb for bringing us back to the classroom for a bit. I'm a journalist and I hate it when I see others steal my research, words, ideas. That's my journalism degree speaking. But on the other hand, I have an English degree. The two battle out quite a bit.
But one thing is for sure: if you plagiarize, you will be caught. And there is nothing worse than an over-caffeinated journalist or pie-in-the-sky writer looking for blood after seeing his or her words under another byline or author's name.

Personally, I've gone after dozens of Web sites that have literally cut and pasted my articles without giving me credit. That's bad. But what is worse is when the newspapers I write for call up the lawyers. That's a fight I NEVER want to get into.
This is how a longtime journalist leverages technology to catch people knowingly or unknowingly plagiarizing material. Google. Plain and simple. Take a couple words, facts, statements - of the best part - quotes from a recent story. Drop that into Google and watch how many people are REALY reading your story.
Most people are understanding. And as a fervent supporter of the First Amendment, I completely understand the need for freedom of speech (not freedom of the press, which appears nowhere in the Constitution - don't believe me? Look it up). Anyway, give credit where credit is due. If you copy something from The New York Times or the Sierra Vista Herald, read the legal side of the site. There's no need to get sued. Heck, most small papers would love to see their newspaper referenced in a blog or chatroom.
Also, this is a great teaching opportunity for your children. The Internet didn't exist when most of us were kids. Heck, most of the journalists I know remember typing on a typewriter. What the heck is that? Kidding aside, parents need to keep up with technology. Honestly, you should let you kids teach you.
In today's world of social media, cut-and-paste technology and seemingly unnecessary courses on writing courtesy, people are going to make mistakes. Stopping the problem before it starts will help everybody. I have a blog, a MySpace Page, a Facebook page, a LinkedIn page, plus a ton of other sites ripe for stealing. If we can all understand that private property in the public eye is still private property, we can all be more confident to freely express ourselves.

Especially us egotistical journalists who think our name is more important than the actual story (I'm kidding - kinda)

Learn more about this author, Shaun Rogers.
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