Ex-Reporter Blair Amused by One Deception

Associated Press ^ | May 20, 2003

[Timesink]

Ex-Reporter Blair 'Couldn't Stop Laughing' At One Deception

POSTED: 9:25 p.m. EDT May 20, 2003
NEW YORK -- Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair said he "couldn't stop laughing" when the newspaper corrected his fraudulent description of an American POW's home in West Virginia, according to excerpts of an interview with the New York Observer.

"That's my favorite, just because the description was so far off from the reality. And the way they described it in the Times story -- someone read a portion of it to me -- I couldn't stop laughing," Blair said in an interview scheduled for publication Wednesday.

The newspaper made excerpts available to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

In one of his few interviews since resigning from the Times on May 1, Blair told the Observer that he "fooled some of the most brilliant people in journalism" with his reporting.

In a brazen act of deception, Blair wrote under a dateline from Palestine, W.Va., about the family of Pvt. Jessica Lynch, a POW rescued in Iraq. He described the family's home as overlooking "tobacco fields and cattle pastures." The porch overlooks no such thing and no member of the Lynch family remembers talking to Blair, the Times said in an extensive investigation into his work.

The Times found fraud, plagiarism and inaccuracies in 36 of 73 articles written between October and April that it examined.

Newsweek has reported that Blair signed with literary agent David Vigliano to market his story for possible book and movie deals. The magazine, citing friends of the ex-reporter, also said that Blair had sought treatment for substance abuse.

According to excerpts from the Observer, Blair said his deceptions stemmed from personal problems.

"I was either going to kill myself or I was going to kill the journalist persona," he said. "So Jayson Blair the human being could live, Jayson Blair the journalist had to die."

[Timesink]

Once again, I must congratulate myself (heh heh) for noting that something was a bit nasty about this guy the moment this story came out:

As someone who's pretty much split his life between West Virginia and Manhattan, I have to say this article, to me, just REEKS of two patrician snots from New York City taking the redeye out to "Yahoo Land" to soak up the "local color." Am I reading too much into this?

Guess I wasn't. Blair had better never show his face in the state of West Virginia, though I'm sure an elitist ass like him will never deign to come to such a "shitty little state" as West Virginia.

[Timesink]

Schadenfreude

This is the New York Times Schadenfreude Ping List. Freepmail me to be added or dropped.

[Timesink]

Basically, as far as i'm concerned this means Blair fully admits he's a common bigot.

[JoeSixPack1]

The little puke is going to be a rich little puke very soon.

[kcvl]

Some publishing executives were skeptical about the immediate prospects for Blair to sell his story.

''It would be massively premature for someone to sign Jayson Blair now,'' said a spokesman for a major publishing house who asked not to be identified. He said Blair would have a hard time getting members of the media to give his book publicity.

A Random House Inc. spokesman raised another concern. ''I think the question one would ask, only semi-flippantly, is who is responsible for paying for the fact-checking -- the author or the publisher,'' said Stuart Applebaum.

''Is Mr. Blair planning to write this as fiction or nonfiction?'' he wondered. ''I suppose a book by Jayson Blair might qualify in either case.''

[kcvl]

The Blair
Get-Rich Project

By PHYLLIS FURMAN
DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER

Jayson Blair is ready for his closeup.


http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:jb7xxnhwmNIJ:www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/83760p-76588c.html+David+Vigliano,+blair&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[JoeSixPack1]

I would predict he will be giving a graduation speech at some school of journalism somewhere next year. His story is so PC timely it's a gold mine. And this guy knows all the publishers cellphone #'s too! :-)

[JoeSixPack1]

WOW,, I wish I read that before I posted! There it is! Thanks!

[gaucho]

I don't get what the whole stink about Jason Blair is about. Most of the stories in the NYT are fiction anyways, so why did they single him out? Because he was black?

[JoeSixPack1]

Getting called on plagiarism by another paper got him. It was lawsuit time for the slimes and Blair was worth more gone.

[Ken H]

See the article link in post #6 by kcvi.

[jagrmeister]

>"I was either going to kill myself or I was going to kill the journalist persona," he said. "So Jayson Blair the human being could live, Jayson Blair the journalist had to die."

I for one am grateful Blair's behavior has taken journalists down a peg. They are unelected tyrants who shape the opinions which determine election outcomes.

[Prodigal Son]

You and I think alike on this.

[martin_fierro]

IMHO, the more this little jackass opens his mouth, the worse it becomes for him AND the NYT. Keep right on talkin', dummy!

[Xthe17th]

Blair had better never show his face in the state of West Virginia

And if he stoops so low as to "write" a book, he'd better never show his face at a booksigning either, ...might just have to have a good 'ol fashioned book "piss on". (that's Farenheit 451's evil, but safer PC twin, BTW)

[FLAMING DEATH]

" He described the family's home as overlooking 'tobacco fields' "

As a lifelong West Virginian, I have to say, the only time I've ever seen tobacco fields was during my trips through Virginia.

He didn't even get the stereotype right.

Now, if he'd said marijuana fields....