CNN fires reporter-editor for plagiarism

International news agency Cable News Network on Friday night (PHL time) announced it has fired a reporter-editor after discovering at least 50 instances of plagiarism involving her.

CNN, in an Editor's Note on its World section, identified the editor as Marie-Louise Gumuchian, who it said wrote frequently about international news.

Gumuchian also wrote and reported about Africa, Europe, and the Middle East from the CNN's London bureau.

"We've terminated Gumuchian's employment with CNN, and have removed the instances of plagiarism found in her pieces. In some cases, we've chosen to delete an entire article," it said.

"Trust, integrity and simply giving credit where it's due are among the tenets of journalism we hold dear, and we regret that we published material that did not reflect those essential standards," it added.

CNN also said it believes "in letting audiences know when we've remedied situations that threaten to compromise that trust."

Gumuchian's case stemmed from an unpublished story that was flagged last week during the editing process.

This led to an internal investigation that "uncovered other examples in about 50 published stories," CNN said. It added the investigation is "ongoing."

Meanwhile, tech site Mashable cited a source at CNN who said the company does regular spot checks on all employees.

"Work by Gumuchian, who had only been at CNN for about six months, was flagged during this process. A broader investigation revealed widespread plagiarism," Mashable said.

Also, it said its source claimed the plagiarism "ranged from lines or phrases to — in some cases — entire paragraphs that were almost unchanged."

But some of her stories, including coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial and gay marriage in Wales, are still available, Mashable said.

It added Gumuchian formerly worked as a reporter for Reuters for nearly six years with the company. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News