Daily Archives: June 12, 2008
Longtime Tejano music columnist resigns following investigation – UPDATED
I had to read the headline on the home page of this evening’s www.MySA.com twice just so I could digest it: “Music writer Burr resigns after probe.” Unfortunately, plagiarism and deceit are not new scandals in recent journalism history but this one hits home as I have long admired Ramiro Burr’s writing (since my early high school years!). I studied journalism in high school and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and I often thought that Burr’s position was a dream job. I still think it is. Writing about Tejano and Latino music and getting paid! And he was the most widely read and successful columnist (and I think the only syndicated columnist writing about Tejano) out there. I admired the exposure that Burr’s polished, sophisticated writing gave to Latino music and especially to the homegrown Tejano music that is often snubbed by critics for its’ folksiness and culturally specificity. It’s disappointing that such a lengthy career should end this way.
And who is this writer that is accusing Ramiro Burr of using his work? Douglas Shannon. His name sounds vaguely familiar and with a Google search I find that he wrote a column called “La Caliente” that can be found HERE. His photo is that of a young looking white guy. Anyway, from the article on the San Antonio Express-News Web site, it appears that the instances of alleged plagiarism occured after 2000 – with one claim from Shannon’s lawyers saying that Shannon actually wrote all of Burr’s Latin Notes column from December 2001 through June 2003!
This scandal is a letdown but I hope that Burr can at least stand by his earlier work from the heydey of Tejano in the 1990s and his handling of the Selena tragedy and aftermath. However, with the magnitude of the allegations against Burr, it appears that the wide body of work for which he should have been praised for years to come will instead be read with doubt and suspicion.
UPDATES:
Looks like Burr will be continuing his work on his personal blog: http://www.ramiroburr.com/ramiros_blog/ -He makes it sound like he planned his “move” from the San Antonio Express-News?
Also, visit Doug Shannon’s MySpace for his blog postings on mostly non-musical topics (He left a comment on this posting, which is how I know his MySpace): http://www.myspace.com/ganasmassiendonormal
