GAAAHHHH!!!!
The only positive difference Helen Thomas has ever made in anyone's life is make this guy look good by comparison.
Posted on 10/27/2009 11:31:22 AM PDT by abb
Jayson Blair, who was at the center of a major journalism scandal as a New York Times reporter in 2003, will be the featured speaker at Washington and Lee University’s 48th Journalism Ethics Institute on Friday, Nov. 6.
The title of Blair’s talk is “Lessons Learned.” The public is invited to the presentation at 5:30 p.m. in Stackhouse Theater, Elrod Commons.
Blair resigned from the Times after an investigation found that he had plagiarized and fabricated major portions of stories that he had written during four years with the Times. Some of the stories that he covered in this manner were such major news events as the D.C. sniper case and the rescue of POW Jessica Lynch.
“Inviting Jayson Blair to keynote this institute was definitely a departure for us,” said Edward Wasserman, the Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics at W&L. “In the past, we've brought heroes to Lexington, people of great accomplishment and stature, such as Hodding Carter, Helen Thomas and Lowell Bergman, and people who stood up to pressure in the name of principled journalism, such as Matt Cooper and my W&L faculty colleague Toni Locy, both of whom faced jail time because they refused to give up the names of sources they had promised to protect.
“Jayson Blair, on the other hand, was at the center of one of the signature journalism scandals of this still-new century, and there's no way to imagine that his role in it was heroic,” Wasserman continued. “When I approached him with the invitation, he said that although he has not spoken publicly about the affair that led to his dismissal from the New York Times, this might be the right time and right occasion. My expectation is that he'll talk not just about his own susceptibilities, but about the pressures and temptations that might induce ambitious and talented young journalists elsewhere in the business to do the wrong thing.”
Blair, 33, attended the University of Maryland where he majored in journalism and was editor-in-chief of the Diamondback, the student newspaper, during the 1996-97 academic year. He had a summer internship with the Times in 1998 and was offered an extended internship which eventually turned into a full-time reporting position. For the past two years, Blair has worked as a certified life coach, specializing in attention deficit disorder, pervasive developmental disorders, mood disorders and substance abuse disorders.
The W&L Journalism Ethics Institutes, held twice each year, bring to campus top media professional and academics for two days of seminars with students from the University’s capstone journalism ethics class. The sessions deal with case studies of ethical dilemmas that the practicing journalists present.
In addition to Wasserman, media professionals and academics attending include Caesar Andrews, Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor in Journalism at W&L; Jon Carras, producer, CBS Sunday Morning; Michael Getler, ombudsman, PBS News; Arlene Notoro Morgan, associate dean of prizes and programs at Columbia University School of Journalism; John Watson, associate professor in the American University School of Communication; Reed Williams, reporter with the Richmond Times-Dispatch; and Corinna Zarek, Freedom of Information Director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
So, what evidence is there, from Blair’s response/statement to Wasserman, that he’s prepared to tell the truth?
“When I approached him with the invitation, he said that although he has not spoken publicly about the affair that led to his dismissal from the New York Times, this might be the right time and right occasion. My expectation is that he’ll talk not just about his own susceptibilities, but about the pressures and temptations that might induce ambitious and talented young journalists elsewhere in the business to do the wrong thing.”
Since he hasn’t talked publicly in any earlier venue, how does Wasserman know that Blair is prepared to ‘tell all’?
What if just continues to be what he always was - a pathological liar?
Maybe he and Dan Rather could tour together.
Won't happen... Neither of these two flaming narcissists would be willing to accept second billing...
the infowarrior
The “Journalist Ethics Institute” is probably a very small group. Who else belongs OJ Simpson?
Next up, Iranian “President” Ahmadinejad on nuclear disarmament...
Amazing. Anywhere else, a disgraced liar and fraud would be blacklisted from the industry but, on the Liberal Left, they are promoted and celebrated.
Pretty much explains the propensity toward playing fast & loose with the truth.
Jayson Blair appears to have been a overly ambitious, self-indulgent, (but talented) kid who was allowed by his superiors at the NYT to cut every corner and run amok. It's easy to blame him alone, but his editors are the ones who I think really deserve the scorn. They continued to reward him for his misbehavior in spite of warning bells going off all over the place which they continually ignored. Blair had youth, alcohol and drugs as an excuse -- what was their excuse?
Their excuse was this: "We're the New York Times! We decide what is and isn't news!"
Blair got caught too early.
If it were now he’d win a Nobel.
Why not, we have a president who won the Nobel Peace Prize despite not having done one single thing in foreign policy other than make speeches.
Yeah, right? And who says irony is dead?
Is he going to announce the winner of the Dan Rather professionalism award.
A departure from sanity ...
A departure from sanity ...
“It depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is.”
That's plagiarism, pal.
And because your're a righty? Deserving of the full penalty of the law: banned, forrrrrrrrrever!
No lecture circuit for you though, that right-wing association, y'know? Sorry. LOL!!
Now had you said, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'ethics is.'?
It'd be an entirely different matter. LOL!!
Certified Life Coach? WTF!
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