Is Blair a NYT editorial problem or could it happen anywhere?

CNSNnews ^ | may 22, 2003 | Steve Brown

[coondawg]

Plagiarism Scandal Challenges Top Managers at NY Times By Steve Brown CNSNews.com Staff Writer May 22, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - As the New York Times' plagiarism scandal featuring former reporter Jayson Blair continues to unfold, many experts are quick to point the finger of blame at the Times' senior editorial management, while others say it could have happened anywhere.

Washington Times Editorial Page Editor Tony Blankley Wednesday wrote that: "The response of the New York Times management seems dangerously similar to the response of the Catholic Church hierarchy to their recent scandals.

"While there was obviously fury at the priests who had abused the young boys, there was a loss of trust between the laity and the hierarchy," Blankley told CNSNews.com. "The solution is you need a new crop of leadership."

[OldFriend]

Is this a trick question?

The real story would be if anyone besides the Washington Times can be trusted to get it right on any issue at all.

[Williams]

It is my experience that news stories seldom are accurate from the standpoint of those involved, whereas the average newspaper reader has no way of knowing that. Reporters routinely apply their own "filter" to stories, and have personal or institutional biases on every issue imaginable. I have told reporters about conversations and events involving public officials, and rather than report the story they decide to play "lawyer" and tell me they can't report this because it's "hearsay." The problems with reporters are endless. It's very subjective work and they are more often than not very arrogant about their own viewpoints.

[Eala]

We had a little flap recently in the Seattle area when one of the papers was revealed (in court papers) to have run a false story in order to help the police catch a criminal suspect.

[LanPB01]

"many experts are quick to point the finger of blame at the Times' senior editorial management, while others say it could have happened anywhere."

Could have happened anywhere? Yeah, anywhere that allows the crazed obsession to "diversity" supersede quality and competence. How many newspapers would circulate a memo stating they absolutely have to stop a writer, RIGHT NOW, then promote him instead?

[js1138]

How many ways does a stupid question have to be asked?

The first two offenses are a freebie for management. It's the employees' fault. After that it's management. After management has put the problem in writing, it's the top boss.

[mass55th]

"Is Blair a NYT editorial problem or could it happen anywhere?"

It is whenever a business puts quantity over quality.

[OldFriend]

It was always about an agenda, we knew it and now everyone else knows it too. Just glad I lived long enough to see the Times fall into the gutter where it belongs.

[chainsaw]

Didn't gerald rivers do the same thing in Afghanistan?

He reported a story that took place 400 miles away from where he was, and he got caught.

[Capriole]

Could it happen anywhere? It didn't happen at the Washington Times. Last week the columnist Adrienne Washington wrote that the Times' staff smelled a rat when Jayson interned with them. Both she and the editor of the Metro section thought Jayson was a problem child and gave him very very careful supervision, to the extent that the Metro editor actually sat next to him to edit his work, line by line.

So, no, when people are both professional and ethical, it doesn't happen.