The scandal over plagiarized passages in Chris Spence’s latest Toronto Star op-ed escalated today, when the National Post unearthed stolen phrases in several more of Spence’s pieces (including one column about how Spence explained the tragic Newton school shooting to his young son). Spence is discernibly contrite—he issued an almost laughably thorough five-part apology and promised to enroll in an Ethics and Law in Journalism course at Ryerson University. Still, sorry may not be enough. TDSB chair Chris Bolton is trying to deflect questions about whether the board will demand Spence’s resignation, but that’s looking increasingly likely. If so, Spence will earn himself a starring role in countless cautionary tales to TDSB students (plus an honourary spot on our spectrum of misbehaving journalists). [National Post]
Update: Chris Spence resigned this afternoon. Read the full text of his resignation letter here.
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Chris Spence, education, journalism, media, Ryerson University, TDSB, Toronto Star