I’m shocked to find out that Ramiro Burr quit. Though initially I became aware of him because he wrote about Tejano music, amongst others, lately I’ve been able to read his work via blogging, etc.
From the Houston Press’ blog, Houstoned:
Music writer Ramiro Burr, who for years has written columns and stories for the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle, has resigned.
Express-News editor Robert Rivard says Burr “caused [the paper] to unknowingly publish work under his name that was not, in fact, his own work.â€
A writer Burr used has hired a lawyer seeking byline credit for stories he worked on.
On his blog, Burr says he resigned as a way of “taking things to the next level,†which apparently means the Web. He says he had “editorial differences†with the Express-News over crediting other writers who worked for him.
[snip]
From an article in the Houston Chronicle:
[snip]
“It was the work of at least one other writer who did not receive credit and who we did not know about. Ramiro decided on his own to resign just as our investigation was concluding and we were preparing to take appropriate action. We have a zero tolerance policy whenever someone on our staff presents work as their own that is not their own.”
In a brief statement, Burr said, “I sincerely apologize for breaking any rules.”
[snip]
Whatever is going on, it’s sad to acknowledge that he’s no longer going to be writing for the Houston Chronicle.
Mr. Shannon, Now that you will be getting your (un)due credit for work you did for Mr. Burr over 5 years ago, have you made arrangements to pay back ALL monies received from him during your employment? Seems only fair don’t you think? Using your services to ghostwrite stories may be unethical in the eyes of the Express but agreeing to taking someone’s money for doing a job and then deciding after the fact to derail this person’s career is just as, if not more, unethical. Shame on you Mr. Shannon, I’m sure that from the beginning you understood the nature of your “partnership†with Mr. Burr. Personally I hope this is the end of your news writing career, oh that’s right Ramiro had the career, you were just his flunky.