In a Nieman Reports article, Craig Silverman of Regret the Error quotes a 19th-century journalism manual that said it was "standard practice for reporters to invent a few details, provided the made-up facts were nonessential to the overall story." How things have changed. Today, Silverman writes, there's a higher standard: "Never before in the history of journalism — or society — have more people and organizations been engaged in fact checking and verification."

"From The New York Times, to ABC News, to HuffingtonPost.com and everyone in between, nearly 30,000 members of the media have quoted HARO sources in their stories," the Help A Reporter Out web site says on its front page. There's no mention of Ryan Holiday, who used the site to dupe major news organizations. Holiday writes about his escapades in CJR. More from Forbes and the Poynter Institute.

The Public Relations Society of America says it's no big deal, Mallary Jean Tenore writes on the Poynter site. But many journalists and mainstream publications see it differently, and that attitude cost a Kansas City Star columnist his job (he's now suing for defamation). Tenore offers some tips for staying on the right side of the line: "Rather than just quoting or paraphrasing a release in a story, make your story stand out by including your own voice in it."

It was certainly a reach when the conservative National Review drew a link in a blog post between Penn State scientist Michael Mann and the school's disgraced former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Now, CJR's Curtis Brainard writes that Mann is demanding a full retraction and apology: "More often than not ... it is conservative/libertarian writers harassing climate scientists, and the low to which [writers] Simberg and Steyn stooped is certainly deplorable."