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Jayson Blair (born 1976) is a former New York Times reporter considered to have been a "star reporter", until he admitted to journalistic fraud when the San Antonio Express-News caught him plagiarizing one of its stories. Blair submitted his resignation letter to the Times on May 1, 2003, and later it was discovered that he had faked quotes and even entire interviews, plagiarized from other newspapers, and submitted false expense records to deceive the paper about his whereabouts.
Blair is an African-American, and while he was not hired or promoted according to any formal affirmative action policy, some, including Ann Coulter, believe that Blair was fast-tracked because of the Times's desire for a more diverse staff. Though he attended the University of Maryland, College Park, he never graduated, yet was given a job at the Times straight out of college— a rarity in journalism.
Before his resignation, Blair covered a number of high-profile stories, including the Washington, DC sniper of October 2002, however some doubt that he ever went to Washington at all. Blair also claimed an interview with the parents of former Iraqi prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, which was later found to have been entirely falsified. Lynch's parents said that they never spoke to Blair and that he made references in his article to "nonexistent tobacco fields and cattle". [1] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40536-2003May10.html) Some of Blair's more minor lapses were known to the Times even before his resignation, but the Times overlooked them.
The Times called the Blair scandal "a low point in the 152-year history of the newspaper" and has admitted to 36 instances of journalism fraud committed by Blair. Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd, considered partially culpable for Blair's indiscretions, resigned about a month after Blair over the scandal. In response to the scandal, the Times created the position of Public Editor, whose critiques of the paper's own reporters, techniques and culture are published twice every month.
Blair authored the book Burning Down My Masters' House: My Life at the New York Times (ISBN 193240726X), released on March 6, 2004. In the book, he accused the Times of racism, and described his ethical lapses as resultant from previous drug problems and a manic-depressive illness.
See also
References
- "N.Y. Times Uncovers Dozens Of Faked Stories by Reporter." Washington Post. May 11, 2003.
- "New York Times executives Howell Raines, Gerald Boyd resign." Associated Press. June 5, 2003.
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