Philadelphia Daily News Response

I complained to the Philadelphia Daily News that it had not credited a story in March that philadelphianeighborhoods.com had done at philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2012/03/21/hunting-park-atvs-and-dirt-bikes-flood-city-streets/ that was similar to a story done in the same neighborhood, Hunting Park. Simply put, this is the third time in the past month that the Daily News and the Inquirer have used ideas from our publication without credit. Also, I don’t believe the editor and the reporters.

I received the following from Philly News City Editor Gar Joseph, which was copied to his reporters Jason Nark and Dana DiFilippo, about my complaint that they had failed to credit our story. I have searched both of the reporters’ stories from the past three years. I find no indication that either one of them have covered the “bike culture” the city editor mentions:

Mr. Harper:

Thanks for your email. I was unaware of the fine story on www.philadelphianeighborhoods.com until I read your email. I checked with Dana and Jason and neither of them had seen it either.

Over the years we’ve done at least half a dozen stories on the urban bike culture, which has been around for at least the 31 years I’ve been with the paper. Dana has written several of them herself, including one in April when Jermaine Alexander died. Today’s package grew out of her work on that story, and Jason’s interest in hanging out with them too. (He previously hung out with outlaw bikers down the shore.) Dana found the Philly Hang Gang by going to a PPA bike auction a few weeks ago.

I have no problem giving credit when we get onto a story via another publication, but that wasn’t the case here. You say this is “not the first time something like this has happened.” If there are any other instances where you think the Daily News failed to give proper credit to a source, I’m happy to investigate them.

Thanks