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Yesterday, I posted an item about the "Couric & Co." blog apologizing for an "omission" involving the April 4 installment of "Katie Couric's Notebook." The Notebook, which has been removed from the site, bore striking similarities to a Jeffrey Zaslow piece in the Wall Street Journal, though no acknowledgment was made of Zaslow's work.

Today, new details have been made public. The first, and most significant, is that a producer has been fired over the incident. In the Washington Post, Howard Kurtz compared passages from the Zaslow piece and the Notebook.

The Notebook, he noted, included this: "For kids today, the library is more removed from their lives. It's a last-ditch place to go if they need to find something out." Zaslow, meanwhile, had written this: "The library is more removed from their lives. It's a last-ditch place to go if they need to find something out."

There has also been some discussion of the language in the Editor's Note, specifically the use of the word "omission." Writes Regret The Error: "This is a case of plagiarism, not omission." The site also expresses "hope this incident will inspire CBS to create an online corrections page and policy." We discussed how CBS deals with corrections last year.

In the comments section of my initial post, joycewest wrote this: "I didn't realize Katie Couric didn't always write the 'Katie Couric's Notebook' herself. Maybe I am naive, assuming that 'Posted by' means 'Written by,' but I wonder how many other people didn't know that?"

Couric has significant involvement in the Notebooks, though she does not write all of them. Every week, she meets with producers to go over ideas and discuss possible themes. Sometimes, she then writes the pieces herself; in other cases, a producer writes them, after which Couric edits and tapes them. In the case of the April 4 piece, Couric was involved in choosing the topic, though she did not write the piece herself.

Newsweek reported that this "episode started last week, when Couric and the show’s producers gathered for a regular weekly meeting to discuss possible topics for the 'Notebook.'” That's not the case: Couric was on vacation last week, and the April 4 Notebook was pre-taped to run while she was away.

Zaslow has said he is satisfied with CBS' handling of the incident. He is quoted in the Post saying CBS "been very gracious and apologetic, and we at the Journal appreciate it."

Greg Kandra, editor of "Couric & Co.," has worked in pretty much every corner of CBS News, having spent 24 years as a writer and producer. He began as a production secretary in Washington in 1982 and moved on to write for CBS Radio and later for a slew of programs anchored by some heavy hitters – Charles Kuralt, Lesley Stahl, Ed Bradley. He also co-wrote the CBS documentary "9/11" in 2002 and has done writing work outside of news – writing for "Survivor" reunion shows. Today, Greg shares some of his highlights, including his ultimate career goal of retrieving Stephen Colbert's dry cleaning and/or coffee.

What do you do at CBS News?

I’m the editor of “Couric & Co,” the Evening News web log (er, “blog”). I also produce Katie’s daily commentary, “Katie Couric’s Notebook.” In my spare time, I send snarky IMs to Dick Meyer.

What single issue should be covered more at CBS News?

In a word, faith. Okay, I admit to a bias here: in May, I’ll complete five years of study and become an ordained member of the Catholic clergy, a Permanent Deacon. So my antennae are probably more attuned to stories of spirituality and religion. But most Americans believe in something, or Someone, and I think in the post 9/11-world, with two wars raging and terror threats increased and wands being waved over us at airports, we’re being reminded again and again of how impermanent and precious life is. Many people are searching for meaning in a world that is increasingly troubled, increasingly fractured. Newspapers are beginning to give more attention to this – the Washington Post just launched a pretty good discussion forum on faith, moderated by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham – and CNN has a full time “Faith and Values Correspondent,” Delia Gallagher, who’s terrific. But I think network television can and should do more. This is an unexplored, largely overlooked area of American life.

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