What Jayson Blair Stole From Me, and Why I Couldn't Ignore It

Washington Post ^ | 06/01/03 | Macarena Hernandez

[Pokey78]

One of the last stories Jayson Blair wrote before being unmasked as a liar and plagiarist contained these words: "Juanita Anguiano points proudly to the pinstriped couches, the tennis bracelet in its red case and the Martha Stewart furniture out on the patio. She proudly points up to the ceiling fan."

Eight days earlier, I had written similar words about Anguiano in an article for my newspaper: "So the single mother, a teacher's aide, points to the ceiling fan he installed in her small living room. She points to the pinstriped couches, the tennis bracelet still in its red velvet case and the Martha Stewart patio furniture, all gifts from her first born and only son."

When I read Blair's story on the morning of April 26, it seemed possible, barely, that Blair too had visited Anguiano, a south Texas mother whose son Edward was the last American soldier missing in action in Iraq. But there was a problem: The Martha Stewart patio furniture wasn't on the patio. It was still in its box, next to the kitchen table. I doubted that Anguiano had found the energy to haul it outside after we spoke. Also, when she had pointed to the furniture, there had been no hint of pride, only pain.

I soon concluded that Blair had stolen my work. And to make matters worse, he'd twisted Anguiano's story, dishonoring her pain at one of the worst times in her life.

[goldstategop]

Plagiarism is a form of moral theft. Its the refuge of the lazy and the dishonest. There's nothing funny about working hard on something and finding someone has ripped off your contribution in order to get an advance they didn't deserve. Jayson Blair hurt legitimate minority journalists by making their character, talent and ability suspect. Indeed who will see their contributions to our state of knowledge in the same light again? Thanks for nothing New York Times. And its perhaps fitting the Mullah Howell Raines is still on the job.

[F16Fighter]

The New York Times has proven what we've always expected -- they are indeed bereft of ANY integrity, truthfulness and fairness. And now, the punchline to a joke.

Moreover, the National Inquirer can now elevate itself to being a journalistic giant in comparison to the Times. (hehehe)

[litany_of_lies]

(from unexcerpted portion of article)

If the New York Times were sincerely committed to diversity, Blair's editors would have chopped off his fingers at the first sign of trouble instead of helping him polish his claws.

This HAS to be the quote of the week. You go, girl!

[Cicero]

In this business, where honesty and trust are at the heart of everything we do, plagiarism and lies can't be ignored.

More power to this young lady. She sounds as if she's an honest reporter. But, God help us, honest reporters are very few and far between these days, at least in the major media. Most of the folks who work for the big time newspapers and TV lie their heads off all the time.

During the clinton scandals, when there were occasional posts from small-town newspapers, I couldn't help noticing that the articles were often more honest and better written than what was appearing in the major cities. It may be that there are some honest people still in the profession. But not many of them are working for the Washington ComPost, the New York Times, Newsweak, Time, Newsday, the LA Times, or any of the other big city papers.

[nothingnew]

Macarena Hernandez

That's her/his real name?...Well I guess it's not too wierd, my name is Polka Jablonski-Waltz.

FMCDH

[GladesGuru]

This a Thank You to Macarena Hernandez.

In a day of sleazy journalism and even more sleazy journalists, I would like to point out to the FR community that you took quite a risk 'outing' the New York Times. As a working journalist, you risked your career to point out indemic plagarism at the leading newspaper in your profession.

I hope that editors will value your courage, and that your career is a satisfying one.

Thanks again for shining the light of day on the slime at the New York Slimes, as it now seems destined to be known.

[joesnuffy]

Liars are always thieves

[mass55th]

"Its the refuge of the lazy and the dishonest."

Very true. Just look at Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I have an acquaintance of the liberal persuasion who used to brag about subscribing to the NY Slimes. Now I just smirk at her and ask her if she's enjoying her subscription.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

And how stupid was it of Blair to plagiarize some one's work from the Washington Post? The NY Slimes and the Com-Post are BIG rivals. This is priceless, just priceless.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Yes, I caught that too. Her kids' names are Tango and Flamenco :-).

OK, everybody - dance along!

[thegreatbeast]

Oh cut it out! Did you read the story?
" It's not that there isn't racism in the newsrooms of America. There is. But that wasn't what brought Jayson Blair
down. And what he did has reinforced racist views, prompting some to say, "Look what happens when we let them in."
This woman wants to salvage the stupid programs that create situations where Jayson Blair gets a pass and you guys are congratulating her!
Except for confessing to Matt Drudge, Blair couldn't have done anything much more blatant than steal from an old colleague in calling attention to his thievery. The girl knew Blair. She was going to check out stuff with his byline. What do you think he was doing by calling her for a copy of her story? He was playing some pathetic little self-destructive game.
And now she is writing a story for the Post. Poor little victim girl. Boo hoo.

[Criminal Number 18F]

She doesn't normally write for the Post, she writes for the Austin paper (I think). The Post has been dancing with schadenfreude about the Times' misdeeds.The Times is more sanctimonious (what did Howell call it, "this irreplaceable national institution?" Gag me!) But how has the Post been doing in the same period?

In the same period as the Times announcing the, er, loss of services of BBC [Blair, Bragg and Clymer], the Post -- which of course, originated the practice of running entire stories based on anonymous stories -- has been nailed on:

• the fabricated Jessica Lynch story (all anonymous sources, including the sources that defended the story afterward -- the only question remaining is did the reporters fabricate it or did they just fail to corroborate a fabrication?)
• the fabricated Condi Rice vs. Affirmative Action story
• the fabricated "Mexican-American soldiers don't want to fight for America" story.

These were all Page 1 exclusives that ran because they comported to the Post's prevailing politics (women are super-human, black conservatives are "race traitors," the Army cruelly forces unwilling blacks and browns to fight for The Man), not because they were true (they weren't). The definition of a piece of writing selected for impact, without regard for truth, is "propaganda," not "news."

The Post (especially Howard Kurtz and their ombudsman [a Swedish word meaning "guy who loyally defends the paper when we screw the pooch"]) have been having a great time beating on the Times, but their linen isn't exactly daisy fresh.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Excellent response - thanks for adding to this thread, and bringing these specific facts to the discussion here.