TIMES ADMITS YOUNG REPORTER ENGAGED IN 'FRAUD'

New York Post ^ | 5/11/03 | Post Wire Services

[kattracks]

May 11, 2003 -- The New York Times made a rare front-page mea culpa today, outlining a pattern of deception, lies and "journalistic fraud" perpetrated by a former reporter assigned to some of the year's biggest stories.

The reporter, Jayson Blair, resigned from the so-called Paper of Record last week after editors discovered that he had stolen details about a missing soldier's mother from a San Antonio newspaper.

[Timesink]

Clearly aspiring to run for the RAT nomination one day.

Blair will resurface somewhere, eventually, as a writer. Mark my words. If it happened to Stephen Glass, who makes Blair look like Edward R Murrow by comparison, then it will happen to Blair as well.

[freedumb2003]

>>Blair will resurface somewhere, eventually, as a writer.<<

Probably the LA Slimes. Anyone who publishes Scheer and Balzar will publish ANYONE.

[Tall_Texan]

In an unprecedented move, the Times called upon readers to assist in the unmasking of Blair, printing an e-mail address, retrace@nytimes.com, for tips.

While the New York Times is in the mood of retracing and retracting lies and inaccuracies in their stories, perhaps our watchdogs can cite *other* instances where the New York Times had their facts wrong. Of course, they don't necessarily have to be from Mr. Blair (poor boy has been picked on enough, I mean he did nothing Clinton, Clinton, Gore and McAuliffe haven't done thousands of times and gotten away with). They can be *anyone* from the NYT. Even if you limited your search to just 1992 (Clinton campaign) and forward, we could come up with enough lies from the New York Times to fill a Sunday NYT cover to cover.

By all means, provide *extensive* documentation. Fill up their e-mail box.

Sure, they'll confess that they don't know what the Lynch family's property in West Virginia looks like, but will they admit that they have lied about Clinton cover ups and Bush bashing for the past decade? That they lied about campaign finance reform and corporate corruption? That they lied about global warming? That they lied about the war with Iraq?

Let's think "big picture" here. Let's tells the Times which lies they spread that really do bother us.

[cnmirose]

This does not seem like front page news and the story
seems ridiculously long (sunday times).
Where might one find independent lists of fraud in the
news industry, if only for comparison?

Likewise, one might ask what safeguards there
are to ensure "truth", or at least some semblance of it.
That is, all the comments (and snide comments)
about this being an AA issue seem silly. The issue
is simply verifiability of information and watchdogging.
The fact that the kid is black is irrelevant. But
maybe I'm naive-- is THAT the front page news hook?

Which leads back to the original question: are there
documented news fraud cases (at a variety of places)
that we can all peruse for comparison?

[Tall_Texan]

"cnmirose
Since May 11, 2003"

Welcome, newbie.

[Alamo-Girl]

I agree: Let's tells the Times which lies they spread that really do bother us.

Bump!

[VOA]

Which leads back to the original question: are there documented news fraud cases
(at a variety of places) that we can all peruse for comparison?



Coloring the News: How Crusading for Diversity Has Corrupted American Journalism
by William McGowan

The book is not so much about fraud, but about how the news is often "under-reported"
in order to never, ever offend certain "victim groups".

I heard the author interviewed on The Dennis Prager Show. The author does not
come off as a right-wing ideologue...just concerned that some Pravda-style (leave
out important facts) reporting is being done.

[WaterDragon]

Coloring the News by Matthew McGowan will simply blow you away with information about the New York Times. The NYT leads the media pack, the rest follow its lead. According to McGowan, newsrooms are little Gulags, where reporters and newsroom managers 'get with the program or get out.'

[WaterDragon]

The NYT is not a paper that values truthfulness or fact-checking. Someone told me that the problem with journalism today, in the mainstream media, is sheer laziness. Well, that couldn't be such a problem if the publishers were concerned about it.

I just think the NYT is up to something. Americans are disgusted with the liberals, and the libs know they're going to have to change their tactics.

[VOA]

Thanks for the link on "Coloring The News".
If I have a sick day, I hope to read "The Language Police" by Deborah (?) Ravitch.

It seems to be just about the same sort of thing, only applied to school texts and tests.

[WaterDragon]

Thanks. I'll check that one out, too.

[mewzilla]

I'll bet their are some glaring omissions in the Times's mea culpa.

[Mister Baredog]

("Bush in secret plans to nuke Chicago for political gain", for example) before she'd ever lose her job.

They would call it "freedom of speech" and give her a raise IMHO.

[shred]

I'm a little disturbed at the racial tone of the responses here. If this had been a white reporter, I doubt his skin color would have even been brought up. But because this guy happened to be black, this suddenly becomes about the evils of affirmative action.

Far more likely is that this guy was a terrific con artist, plain and simple.

I steadfastly oppose quotas and affirmative action. I think they're both profoundly un American and certainly unconstitutional.

The underlying ugliness of many of the posts on this thread depresses me. The conservative movement is far better than this.

[Mister Baredog]

Probably the LA Slimes. Anyone who publishes Scheer and Balzar will publish ANYONE.

Your sure right on on this one. Don't forget they publish Ariana Huffington as their conservative(what a joke) columnist. Today they reached a NEW LOW. They have an OP ED by none other than Monica S. Lewinsky!!!!ROTFLMAO!!!

[Mister Baredog]

Let's think "big picture" here. Let's tells the Times which lies they spread that really do bother us.

Did they indicate how many of these FALSE stories they STOOD BEHIND when challenged about them? My bet is ALL of them.

[Celantro]

To: retrace@nytimes.com

From: Moi

I'd rather read these pure lies than your regularly published leftist propaganda in the guise of news.

[Pharmboy]

Can't wait for their next knock on Matt Drudge for being such a poor journalist...

[Pharmboy]

This is an affirmative action issue and a NY Times agenda issue. It is also symptomatic of their worsening all-around journalism (flogging the Augusta National story, e.g.)

They're losing readership and trying to get back respect...it's going to take more than one mea culpa, no matter HOW many words this one was.

Note to Times: stop the "journalists on a mission" stuff and just report the news. We don't need to be saved by self-important, arrogant SOBs like you.

[Nick Danger]

"How did this man keep his job?"
Because they were afraid of the Rev Jackson

Betcha this has less to do with his being black than it does with him being something else.