The Flat Hat
March 24-31, 2006
On March 24, 2006, at least one anonymous blogger noticed similarities between an essay by humor writer P.J. O'Rourke and a 1999 Flat Hat article by former William & Mary student and Flat Hat writer Ben Domenech, which was available on The Flat Hat's website. Domenech had long run the popular conservative blog RedState and had recently been hired by the Washington Post.
The Flat Hat followed up, investigating Domenech's 35 pieces for the paper (many available only in archived print editions) and finding at least ten instances of plagiarism. As the paper's Executive Editor at the time, I wrote or contributed reporting to the bulk of the investigation.
"Staff Editorial: Poison of plagiarism" March 24, shared byline (co-written with EIC and ME)
"Domenech appears to have copied from Salon.com film review" March 24, byline
"Former Flat Hat editor refutes Domenech's rebuttal" March 25, contributed reporting
PDF Catalog of Domenech's articles March 26, contributed reporting
"Former student accused of plagiarism" March 31, contributed reporting
