[Pukka Puck]

"The widespread fabrication"

Standard operating procedure at the NYT.

[the Real fifi]

When will they get to Krugman or Johnny Apple? Right after the New Yorker gets to Sy Hersh, I suppose...

[Pukka Puck]

"His tools of deceit were a cellphone and a laptop computer — which allowed him to blur his true whereabouts — as well as round-the-clock access to databases of news articles from which he stole."

He didn't have to turn in receipts for his expense report?

[kristinn]

ROTLMAOPIMP!!!!!

This is a scathing indictment of standards and practices at the NYT. And they wonder why we hate them so for making up the news.

First CNN, now The Times. Who's next?

[Dialup Llama]

You are going to find that much 'journalism' is actually snagged from other articles- DEBKA Stratfor to name a few, and its not just the web blogs... 'real' newspapers too. Orginal reporting is time consuming, expensive and sometimes doesn't pan out.

As long as your output is high, the managers are not going to question how you get your info.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Wow. LOL (Interesting that he was working on the Lynch story, which seems to change every week...maybe he's not the only "reporter" whose imagination worked overtime.)

[Pukka Puck]

The bottom line is the New York Times was hosted on its own petard, the politically correct snobs.

link

"As Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz pointed out on his CNN show "Reliable Sources" Blair is (relatively) young, probably about 27 years old, and BLACK."

[Paul_B]

A staff reporter for The New York Times committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud while covering significant news events in recent months, an investigation by Times journalists has found. The widespread fabrication and plagiarism represent a profound betrayal of trust and a low point in the 152-year history of the newspaper.

Right. Now send that guy to the editorial board.

[LisaAnne]

No one is allowed to make stuff up at the Times except Raines, the managing editor.

So9

[Pukka Puck]

"A few days later, Mr. Blair issued a statement that referred to ``personal problems'' and expressed contrition."

He sounds like a crack head and it appears that the Slimes knew it.

[Mister Baredog]

``To the best of my knowledge, there has never been anything like this at The New York Times,''

Raines was on PBS news last night SPINNING like he was Carville & Begala combined. Sunday they're susposed to EXPOSE all of the LIES they've accidentally printed and STOOD BEHIND over the 4 years of this AFFIRMATIVE ACTION reporter. Proof the PETER PRINCIPLE still applies. I'm looking for a lot of chatter on this subject next week. Should be fun.

[Pukka Puck]

``That discussion did not happen,'' Mr. Raines said, adding that he had seen no need for such a discussion because Mr. Blair's performance had improved, and because ``we do not stigmatize people for seeking help.''

Looks like Raines should also be fired, since he showed such bad judgement.

[NYCVirago]

His tools of deceit were a cellphone and a laptop computer — which allowed him to blur his true whereabouts — as well as round-the-clock access to databases of news articles from which he stole.

Don't reporters either 1) have a corporate credit card to charge expenses on, or 2) get reimbursed for travel expenses? And in either case, don't they have to get travel authorizations signed for by their supervisor? I just find it hard to believe that it took so long for the Times to find out that he did not travel to the places he claimed to be reporting from. You would figure that their first clue would be the lack of expenses from these places.

[Pukka Puck]

"In the end, Mr. Raines said last week, the paper handled the criticisms of both articles appropriately. ``I'm confident we went through the proper journalistic steps,'' he said." (wiping the egg off his face)

[NYCVirago]

The investigation suggests several reasons Mr. Blair's deceits went undetected for so long: a failure of communication among senior editors; few complaints from the subjects of his articles; his savviness and his ingenious ways of covering his tracks.

Of course, affirmative action had NOTHING to do with it. 23-year-old white reporters without college degrees get to start their careers at the New York Times all the time. (/sarcasm)

[rabidralph]

I wonder if they'll be eligible for a Pulitzer for investigative journalism?

[Pukka Puck]

Between the first coverage of the sniper attacks in late October and late April, Mr. Blair filed articles claiming to be from 20 cities in six states. Yet during those five months, he did not submit a single receipt for a hotel room, rental car or airplane ticket, officials at The Times said.

How does this blatant and flagrant flouting of all rules jive with the finds of the investigation, "The investigation suggests several reasons Mr. Blair's deceits went undetected for so long: a failure of communication among senior editors; few complaints from the subjects of his articles; his savviness and his ingenious ways of covering his tracks."?

[Pukka Puck]

"Mr. Blair did not have a company credit card - the reasons are unclear - and had been forced to rely on Mr. Roberts's credit card to pay bills from his first weeks on the sniper story. His own credit cards, he had told a Times administrator, were beyond their credit limit."

He was a deadbeat too.

[NYCVirago]

One other thing:

On an expense report filed in January, for example, he indicated that he had bought blankets at a Marshall's department store in Washington; the receipt showed that the purchase was made at a Marshall's in Brooklyn.

Never mind the location difference -- how in the world would blankets be a justifiable work expense?

[Pukka Puck]

But Mr. Sulzberger emphasized that as The New York Times continues to examine how its employees and readers were betrayed, there will be no newsroom search for scapegoats. ``The person who did this is Jayson Blair,'' he said. ``Let's not begin to demonize our executives - either the desk editors or the executive editor or, dare I say, the publisher.''

Authority, but no responsibility, eh, Mr. Sulzberger? Nice work if you can get it.