WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The scandal rocking The New York Times right now is a journalistic low point. I am referring to the shocking news that a supposedly bright and talented young reporter, Jayson Blair, was a liar and a plagiarizer. Instead of reporting all the news that's fit to print, he simply made it up as he went along. I know all of you have been following this scandal, and while it's certainly not the first time that a journalist has been caught cheating -- many of you will remember the Janet Cook affair at The Washington Post and the Stephen Glass affair at The New Republic -- it seems to be have been the most sustained.
Here's what worries me so much. So many Americans already have a rather low regard for journalists; so many of our viewers, readers and listeners simply don't trust us. Many of them, according to public opinion polls, believe we have political agendas and biases that taint our reporting. And many of our news consumers, no doubt, suspect we often make things up -- whether to advance a political cause, or settle personal scores, or sell newspapers and increase ratings on television. What has now happened at The New York Times has simply fueled those suspicions.
It will now take The New York Times a long time to win back the trust of its readers. The top editors and executives at that newspaper have begun the process but they still have a lot of explaining to do. And in the process of explaining, they should be as open as possible with their readers.
Journalism is not a perfect science. It is often referred to as a first draft of history. And as all of you know, a first draft can occasionally be sloppy. Yes, we will make mistakes. But those are unwitting mistakes. There must be zero tolerance for deliberate distortions, false reporting and fiction writing in the guise of journalism. They cannot be tolerated.
Healthy skepticism is critical in doing our job. In my experience, if a story sounds too good to be true, it almost always is. Check and re-check and triple-check those sources. There are people with agendas trying to use us for their own purposes. And there are others who simply get their kicks out of advancing hoaxes on the news media. Those of us in the business of reporting have to err on the side of caution -- even if that means losing a scoop.
-Wolf Blitzer, CNN
|
|
Bigtime!
Another day, another LIE !