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Explat
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Location: Downtown Pleides
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 Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:05 pm Post subject: Lonely Travel writer a low down dirty liar. |
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Travel writer tells newspaper he plagiarized, dealt drugs
(CNN) -- A Lonely Planet author says he plagiarized or made up portions of the popular travel guidebooks and dealt drugs to supplement poor pay, an Australian newspaper reported Sunday.
art.lonely.planet.afp.gi.jpg
Lonely Planet publishes more than 500 titles and employs 300 authors, according to its Web site.
Thomas Kohnstamm, who has written a book on his misadventures, also said he didn't travel to Colombia to write the guidebook on the country because "they didn't pay me enough," The Daily Telegraph reported.
"I wrote the book in San Francisco [California]," he is quoted as saying in the Telegraph. "I got the information from a chick I was dating -- an intern in the Colombian Consulate."
The 32-year-old Seattle, Washington, native also claims he accepted free travel, which is a violation of the company's policy. |
He doesn't sound so lonely to me.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/04/13/lonely.planet/index.html
Sorry, Thomas, but there's NO excuse for what you did. If you don't like your job, have the integrity to get another, even if it is busing tables. The damage you have done is immeasurable.
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5 reasons to be outraged by the Lonely Planet fraud
by Aaron Hotfelder Apr 13th 2008 @ 3:00PM
We reported earlier today on a Lonely Planet writer named Thomas Kohnstamm who admitted to making up large parts of his books, and also said that he had never even been to Colombia, a country he covered for the guidebook series. In case this guy's behavior hasn't already pissed you off, here's five reasons why it should.
5. His sickening sense of entitlement. Kohnstamm's complaint that LP doesn't pay its writers enough might be well-founded. I've certainly never seen any of the guidebook writers I know driving Ferraris or polishing their bling. But to sabotage your employer because you believe you're underpaid is stupid. There are literally thousands of people who would love to write for LP, and I'm sure no one was holding a gun to this guy's head to write these guidebooks. If he didn't like the terms of employment, he should have quit and let LP find somebody else. It wouldn't be hard.
4. His shameless self-promotion. In an amazing coincidence, Kohnstamm is set to release a new book next week called Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism. The book, from what I can tell, is the story of how Kohnstamm manages to embody every bad stereotype about travelers there is, and he comes off sounding like a complete boor who's just dying to tell the world about his unbelievably cool life. Here's an excerpt:
"The waitress suggests that I come back after she closes down the restaurant, around midnight. We end up having sex in a chair and then on one of the tables in the back corner. I pen a note in my Moleskine that I will later recount in the guidebook review, saying that the restaurant 'is a pleasant surprise . . . and the table service is friendly.'"
You had sex with a girl? In a foreign country?! Cool!
It's worth mentioning that his shameless self-promotion is working. News outlets like CNN, Reuters, and many others have picked up the story, always including the name of his new book in their articles. And there's a picture of it above. More proof that the most effective kind of self-promotion is the purely shameless variety.
3. He undoubtedly led travelers astray. LP reps say they haven't found any mistakes in Kohnstamm's books yet. Well, keep looking. Kohnstamm claims he made up large parts of his books, so it's likely there are quite a few inaccuracies to be found. Tellingly, the author never appears to consider that people are counting on the schedules and recommendations he's supposed to provide.
Spending the night in a train station because your guidebook messed up the departure times is far from the end of the world. But it also shouldn't be written off as simply "part of the experience," especially if it could be easily avoided.
2. He regards the whole affair as a harmless college prank. In his interview with an Australian newspaper, Kohnstamm makes sure to bash LP, but he never apologizes to his readers. Worse, he seems to view his "questionable ethics" as being a real riot, merely fodder for his next book and nothing more.
1. He gives a bad name to all the other Lonely Planet writers out there. As Matthew Firestone, a Gadling contributor and LP writer, said in the comments of our earlier post, this writer's behavior reflects very poorly on those guidebook writers who tirelessly pound the pavement to check train schedules, review restaurants, and sleep in seedy hostels. If Kohnstamm believes his actions only hurt himself, or his Lonely Planet publisher, he's dead wrong. His unethical behavior will cause travelers to cast suspicious glances at other guidebook writers, almost all of whom work their asses off. |
http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/13/5-reasons-to-be-outraged-by-the-lonely-planet-fraud/
But at the same time, it does raise questions about the guides, in general.
How accurate do you find the Korean version? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject: Re: Lonely Travel writer a low down dirty liar. |
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| Explat wrote: |
How accurate do you find the Korean version? |
Theres little doubt the author of the korean version really was in Korea. The wry sarcasm is evident throughout. It could almost read like a daves posting in places. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like the LP writer for Colombia must hangout often with the LP writer for the Philippines.
The Philippines latest editions are always the same as the previous editions with just new covers on the front. The latest 2008 edition of LP Philippines is already incredibly outdated in every imagineable way that you can imagine. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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although I agree they probably don't pay the writers much.
Sounds typical: the writer is supposed to do it all for the sheer prestige of lonely planet. i've worked for publications with that attitude before, they can go **** themselves. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:17 am Post subject: |
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| Julius wrote: |
although I agree they probably don't pay the writers much.
Sounds typical: the writer is supposed to do it all for the sheer prestige of lonely planet. i've worked for publications with that attitude before, they can go **** themselves. |
If you don't like that attitude, why work for them in the first place? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:48 am Post subject: |
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| Julius wrote: |
although I agree they probably don't pay the writers much.
Sounds typical: the writer is supposed to do it all for the sheer prestige of lonely planet. i've worked for publications with that attitude before, they can go **** themselves. |
The KT with the expat page isn't paying its writers either. Their gimmick was "ah you'll get swag, free tix, etc." And of course looks good on your resume. Sounds a bit like from my friend the swag isn't quite flowing their way like initially promised. |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:04 am Post subject: |
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Wonderful. Good thing my LP is written by an actual Korean, not an actual liar.
It seems to be a trend in recent days; writers getting busted for posting fiction in the non-fiction section.
1) The Belgian lady busted for claiming she was raised by wolves after escaping from the Nazis (raised by wolves? This should've trigged the BS meter right away)
2) The white lady in California who claimed to be a hardcore gang member in L.A. but was really a social worker who got exposed by her sister.
and now, this.
Sorry, LP writers. If this guy BS'd his works, then who is to say any of you aren't doing the same? I'm not going to take any chances and buy another book made by that company. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: |
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| agentX wrote: |
| Wonderful. Good thing my LP is written by an actual Korean, not an actual liar. |
I always thought the Korea LP was more or less written by ESL teachers. I remember my first 1996 edition which use to say Pusan is nothing more than an urban jungle to get through on your way to Japan.
Then with the influx of ESL teachers, suddenly every ESL teaching hangout in Pusan was listed in great detail.
(Same with Seoul, I just happened to be living in Busan/Pusan at that time). |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
| agentX wrote: |
| Wonderful. Good thing my LP is written by an actual Korean, not an actual liar. |
I always thought the Korea LP was more or less written by ESL teachers. I remember my first 1996 edition which use to say Pusan is nothing more than an urban jungle to get through on your way to Japan.
Then with the influx of ESL teachers, suddenly every ESL teaching hangout in Pusan was listed in great detail.
(Same with Seoul, I just happened to be living in Busan/Pusan at that time). |
Mine lists Minkyoung Kim as one of the 2 authors. The other is Johnathan Park, who used to work for EBS with her. |
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Nowhere Man
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:26 am Post subject: ... |
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Quality of the LP books varies a lot.
I think their Southeast Asia book is pretty solid, but it also was the first and it also sells oodles. Conversely, their Sri Lanka book was a total waste of money. There are are a plethora of cheap places to stay in Colombo. The guide manages to mention about 2 of them.
I was gonna write and tell them about the cheap places, but I thought, "Screw that; I'm not on their payroll."
But I think that does explain how all the TB-mentioned Pusan places found their way into their book. My guess is that ESL teachers sent them in gratis.
One complicating factor that keeps me buying guidebooks is the evil way that booking outfits make it virtually impossible to find decent information online. I hate that. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:33 am Post subject: Re: ... |
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| Nowhere Man wrote: |
Quality of the LP books varies a lot.
I think their Southeast Asia book is pretty solid, but it also was the first and it also sells oodles. Conversely, their Sri Lanka book was a total waste of money. There are are a plethora of cheap places to stay in Colombo. The guide manages to mention about 2 of them.
I was gonna write and tell them about the cheap places, but I thought, "Screw that; I'm not on their payroll."
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Yeah, agreed. Their book on Bangladesh was pretty much useless. Think I used it once or twice but that was it. |
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