Students-- Now a sportswriter does a "Jayson Blair" and files a story that he claimed was live reporting, but he had simply watched the game on TV. Also, guilty of a "word crime" -- lifting quotes and not giving attribution. Be safe in your reporting, not sorry. Check out our e-learning module on avoiding plagiarism and other word crimes. Sports -- An apology to our readers from the Sac Bee

Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Wednesday, August 20, 2003 On Aug. 7, a story on the cover of the Sports section about the Giants game at Pacific Bell Park was filed by a Bee reporter who was not at the game. The reporter watched the game on television at a location away from the stadium. He filed his story without telling editors at The Bee his true location, leaving the impression he covered the game from the ballpark. In addition, it was discovered later that the story included quotes from other media outlets that were unattributed and old, made to reporters on a previous occasion before the day of the game. The story violated basic journalistic values and ethics as practiced by The Bee. The reporter involved, Jim Van Vliet, no longer works at the newspaper. The Bee regrets the situation and apologizes to its readers.

Armando Acuna Sports editor