Talk:Ivo John Lederer

Close paraphrasing

I believe that some of the wording is close enough to the wording in the New York Times obituary [1] to be considered close paraphrasing and therefore copyvio.

Moonridden Girl notes:

Ivo John Lederer was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. His father, Otto Lederer, was a lawyer. His mother, Ruza Lederer, was the first woman licensed to practice architectural design in Yugoslavia. In 1941, after the Nazis had entered Zagreb in collaboration with native fascist Ustashe forces, Otto Lederer was arrested for defying a ban against Jews practicing law. The family was able to bribe officials to gain his release.[1]. They fled to Italy where, using false papers, and with the help of friends and the Catholic Church, they hid for three years. ...Soon afterwards, after heading south to Naples, the family which included Lederer's older sister Mira was able to get aboard the U.S.S. Henry Gibbons, a Liberty Ship dispatched by President Franklin Roosevelt to transport wounded American soldiers and 982 refugees, mainly Jews.

The Times says:

Ivo John Lederer was born on Dec. 11, 1929, in Zagreb, Croatia, to Ruza and Otto Lederer, a lawyer. When he was 11 and his sister, Mira, was 16, the Nazis invaded Zagreb and their father was arrested for defying a ban against Jews practicing law. But his mother, the first woman licensed to practice architectural design in Yugoslavia, was able to bribe officials and obtain his release. Using false papers, the family fled to Italy. There, with the help of friends and the Catholic Church, they hid for three years. Then, in Naples, they got aboard the Henry Gibbons, a Liberty ship dispatched by Roosevelt to transport wounded soldiers and 982 refugees, mainly Jews.

I note that in the lead we have:

While on leave from Stanford 1972-76, he served at the Ford Foundation in New Yorkas Program Officer in charge of East European affairs. While at the Ford Foundation, he helped set up the Inter-University Center (IUC) in Dubrovnik, Croatia (then still part of the Yugoslav Federation).

and the New York Times has:

At Stanford he founded and directed the Center for Russian and East European Studies. While on leave to work at the Ford Foundation, he helped set up the Institute for Central European Studies in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which was then still part of the Yugoslav Federation.

Article:

. At the time of his death, the NY Times reported that Lederer was Director of the Global Business Policy Council at A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm "helping corporate leaders adapt their strategies to changing world conditions."

NYT:

At the time of his death, he was the director of the global business policy council at A. T. Kearney, a management consulting firm, helping corporate leaders adapt their strategies to changing world conditions.

Article:

" He was also President of West-West Agenda/USA, an association of European and American business and policy leaders seeking to resolve trans-Atlantic political, economic and security issues.

NYT:

He was also president of West-West Agenda/USA, an association of European and American business and policy leaders that seeks to resolve trans-Atlantic political, economic and security issues.

Article:

Dr. Lederer was the author and editor of many books and articles, including Yugoslavia at the Paris Peace Conference (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1963) which won the George Louis Beer Prize from the American Historical Association.

NYT:

Dr. Lederer was the author of several books and articles, including Yugoslavia at the Peace Conference (Yale University Press, 1963), which won the George Louis Beer Prize from the American Historical Association.

Article:

And in May 1998, one month before his death from pancreatic cancer, he won the United Nations Society of Writers Award for his "great contributions to the worlds of history, politics and literature."

NYT:

Last month he won the United Nations Society of Writers Award for his great contributions to the worlds of history, politics and literature.

I may have missed some, and other parts of the article may have come from elsewhere. Dougweller (talk) 16:37, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

That is certainly close, thanks. What's the drill at this point, then - see if someone's willing to undertake the task of loosening up the paraphrases? JohnInDC (talk) 17:05, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Sort of. But it's best to rewrite, not just move words around. See[ WP:PARAPHRASE. It may end up shorter, but if he's really notable someone will come along and enlarge it. I'd probably delete the stuff that's obviously paraphrase or copyvio (the stuff above), check to see if anything left seems to be copyvio or close paraphrase, and rewrite from scratch. But ask User:Moonriddengirl if there's a guide I don't know about. Dougweller (talk) 14:26, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

I think that the outlines of the refugee story can be sufficiently distilled to avoid copyvio problems, and have done so. It's also more - valuable to the article than the rest, which is just sort of a list of accomplishments. I will see if I can pare than sufficiently cleanly as well, or just remove it. JohnInDC (talk) 14:39, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Some is really pretty straight copyvio, I'd remove it, look at the article, and then see what needs fixing. Good work so far! Dougweller (talk) 14:54, 12 August 2010 (UTC)