May 13, 2003
Three weeks ago in this space of This Fine Newspaper, I wrote about journalists who had taken a temporary -- or perhaps not-so-temporary -- leave of their senses to do some bad things, such as looting Iraq or selling inaccurate information to the National Enquirer for tens of thousands of dollars.
To quote myself: "Yes, it's an embarrassing time to be a journalist, what with the looting and the payments from the National Enquirer and Geraldo and all."
Well, after I wrote this, all hell REALLY broke loose in the journalism world.
If you've been a cave, or under a rock, or hanging out at Dotty's Casino, let me fill you in: Jayson Blair, a reporter for The New York Times, resigned after he was called on the carpet for plagiarizing a story about the family of a prisoner of war. The Times the launched a subsequent investigation into Blair's reporting, which revealed that at least 36 of 73 articles he'd written since last October had substantial errors, plagiarisms or flat-out fabrications. On May 11, the Times dedicated more than 14,000 words to the burgeoning scandal.
What was that about "All the news that's fit to print?"
Anyway, it's gotten uglier ever since. The Jayson Blair saga made the cover of this week's issue of Newsweek, which revealed that Blair had problems including a cocaine habit. People -- including many in the Times newsroom -- are suggesting that the Times' top management should step down. Minority hiring programs and affirmative action are being called into question because there's evidence that Blair, an African American, was coddled -- possibly because of his minority status -- and promoted despite a horrendous number of corrections.
Ugly, ugly, ugly. Journalists, again, are being made to look like unethical, sloppy dweebs.
Well, maybe there's a ray of hope. Maybe Blair will apologize, contrite and regretful. Right?
Um, no. This, from this week's Newsweek piece:
Blair has signed up with David Vigliano, a literary agent, and is in talks for book, movie and television deals. Ted Faraone, a PR agent who had worked with Blair on stories at the Times, told NEWSWEEK he called the reporter after reading about his career suicide. "He called me back Wednesday," the day of the Times's town-hall meeting, Faraone said. "He sounded in pretty good spirits, considering everything. And, you know, he needs to do something to keep body and soul together, so I put him in touch with one of my clients, Ian Rae, who did 'A Current Affair.' I'm hoping things work out for him." Then Faraone added another thought. "If one thing can be said about this from a literary standpoint, the American people tend to be very forgiving if you come clean. They'll watch the TV movie and pay $9.50 to see the feature film. It's a strange commentary on celebrity in 21st-century America, but in a way thatıs kind of how we rehabilitate people after they've fallen."
Oh, and in other news, there's a new book coming out by Stephen Glass. It's a novel about a plagiarist magazine writer. Interesting fact: THAT'S WHAT STEPHEN GLASS WAS. He was canned from The New Republic magazine in 1998 after it was discovered that he had made up a good chunk of his work. And now, come 2003 -- after graduating from law school, by the way -- he's got a BOOK DEAL.
So, let's look at how things have unfolded for Glass and Blair: 1. Lie, cheat and steal. Take money from your employer to do this. 2. Get caught. 3. Sully the reputation your employer, which happens to be a well-respected journalism publication -- not to mention your entire profession. 4. Capitalize by selling the story about Nos. 1-3.
Meanwhile, hard-working, earnest -- and truthful -- journalists toil all across the country, damaged by things that Blair and Glass have done.
Lovely, ain't it?
Jimmy Boegle is a fifth-generation Nevadan on exile in Tucson who swears he's not really writing this from some corner of the Tribune newsroom. Jimmy's column appears here Tuesdays, and a column archive may be viewed at www.jimmyboegle.com.