The higher-ups at the newspaper ultimately put Blair in touch with the psychiatrists that helped him treat his bipolar disorder, he said. Does he have advice for his younger self? When did he begin fabricating? Was it the system or himself? Blair begins fidgeting with a piece of blue cloth from his pocket as he tackles each one. It began small, Blair remembered. His first instance of plagiarism was an unattributed quote taken from t he Associated Press in an interview — one he was sure his editors would catch.
But no one did. WHY: The Blair case raises questions about hiring, management and overall editorial policy. First, there is the issue of relative inexperience in a super-high-stakes newsroom. Is it fair to senior staffers to allow a fresh-out-of-college writer to step into the ranks? More importantly, is it fair to expect such an inexperienced writer, however talented, to produce reporting as sharp as that of a decorated correspondent?
While a pure meritocracy allows an individual of any experience level to fill any role, talent in the absence of experience could lead to diminished professionalism: Blair's ability to impress editors with his writing may have led to him feeling that facts are less important than prose.
Second, there is the question of who is responsible for letting Blair go so far. Is it the editor who hired him straight from the University of Maryland? How bout successive editors, who, despite their mediocre evaluations, did not object loudly enough to Blair's promotions? Third, there must be a better way. Is it enough to know what went wrong and tighten the reigns on practices such as anonymous sources? Or does the Times need an auditor, someone it pays for a scolding?
For most mainstream media publications trying to compete online, their reputation is their greatest asset and is something that online-only outlets can not yet duplicate. If that is lost, then much of their future is likely lost as well. The same as academic and scientific publishers need to get in front of the issue of plagiarism, the need is possibly even more urgent for news organizations. For newspapers and other news organizations, this issue is only going to get more urgent.
The public is getting better armed and becoming more aware about these issues. For example, Churnalism U. Simply by installing a browser extension, a reader is alerted when content from questionable sources appears in an article, letting the reader make the decision if the content was used and cited in an appropriate way. The simple truth is that readers are not going to become less savvy about these issues.
As the technology becomes easier and cheaper, readers are going to get better at checking after journalists and, through the Internet, have a powerful way to share their findings with the world. In short, where the Jayson Blair scandal was truly prophetic was in its public nature.
The days of newspapers learning of a bad reporter and quietly working to correct their record are done. The Internet has made the issue of bad journalism a public one. A new age of curation in journalism. No reputation is immune to plagiarism. Topics: Best Practices.
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