stealing

Mine and TIME's--Too Close for Comfort?

Last Sunday, in a fit of paranoia, it seemed as if the Yoga Journal blog, Yoga Buzz, had scooped my post on the AskMen.com issue (whether meathead dudes should do yoga).But a friendly note from Yoga Buzz online editor Erica Rodefer clarified that it was just a coincidence. Great blogging minds thinking alike etc etc. Okay, that's cool.However, it quickly became clear that I had sensed the future (putting my yogic skills to work!).On Wednesday, April 15, Time Magazine's article on Yoga and Psychotherpay cited many of my sources and clearly drew from the story structure of the piece I wrote for GAIA Magazine in November 2008!!! ACK!Read and compare:  Mine and Theirs Too close for comfort? I thought so.I'm flattered to be imitated but this goes too far.For now, my complaint has reached the Time Mag health editor and I hope to hear her update on the situation this week. If journalists don't take pains to avoid stepping on each other's toes, what are we doing exactly?[UPDATE: Moving on from the toxicity of the situation, I edited the original post. After the sting faded, there were some interesting meta questions embedded here: journalistically speaking, must mainstream trendspotting rely so heavily on the legwork of others? As a friend pointed out, at what point does one venue's coverage become a stolen idea for another venue? Also implicit here is the question of what happens when yoga bounces into the mainstream? No longer rarified, what are the parameters of representation? To be continued...]