Hard News (42 page)

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Authors: Seth Mnookin

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“I don’t know”
Lemann to author.

Course Corrections

Patrick Tyler wrote a piece headlined
Patrick E. Tyler. “Threats and Responses: Terror Network.”
The New York Times
. February 6, 2003. p. A1.

editors’ note and a column
“From the Editors: The Times and Iraq.”
The New York Times
. May 26, 2004. p. A10. Also, Daniel Okrent. “Weapons of Mass Destruction? Or Mass Distraction?”
The New York Times.
May 30, 2004. Section 4, p. 2.

Privately, some top editors
Author interviews.

most persistently and eloquently
See, for example, “The
Times
Scoops That Melted: Cataloging the Wretched Reporting of Judith Miller.” Available at
www.slate.com/id/2086110
. July 25, 2003. Also, “Miller Time (Again): The
New York Times
Owes Readers an Explanation for Judith Miller’s Faulty WMD Reporting.” Available at
www.slate.com/id/2095394
. February 12, 2004. Also, “Surrender, Judith Miller! Knight Ridder Has the Goods on You.” Available at
www.slate.com/id/2100747
. May 24, 2004. Also, Michael Massing. “Now They Tell Us.”
The New York Review of Books.
February 26, 2004. p. 43. Also, Judith Miller et al. “ ‘Now They Tell Us’: An Exchange.” Letters to the Editor.
The New York Review of Books.
March 25, 2004. p. 45. Also, and Michael Massing. “Unfit to Print?”
The New York Review of Books.
June 24, 2004. p. 6.

Engelberg, who had co-authored a book
Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William J. Broad.
Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

“My sense was that Howell Raines”
Doug Frantz. “RE: Times book/Miller.” E-mail message to author. May 20, 2004. 3:57 a.m.

Sulzberger’s Challenges

“It’s postponed things”
Sulzberger to author.

“The
Times
couldn’t exist”
Goodale to author.

“It’s the question”
Rosenthal to author.

“should have been listening harder”
“Siegal Committee Report,” p. 43.

“his 2004
Atlantic
piece”
Raines, “My Times.”

“change agent”
“Siegal Committee Report,” p. 43. Also, Raines, “My Times.”

There is a long history
Meyer Berger.
The Story of
The New York Times
1851–1951.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1951. p. vi.

One of Arthur Sulzberger’s favorite
Sulzberger to author.

“That was backwards”
Robinson to author.

nearly 90 percent of the paper’s
Sulzberger, Robinson, and Lewis to author.

“We’ve moved to the point”
Lewis to author.

Virtually every paper in the country
See, for example, Jacques Steinberg. “Newspaper Circulation Continues Overall Decline.”
The New York Times
. May 4, 2004. p. C4.

“We can now go”
Sulzberger to author.

had for years been telling executives
Peter C. Goldmark. “Statement of Peter C. Goldmark Jr., Chair and CEO of the International Herald Tribune, to the IHT Staff, Paris, January 20, 2003.” Poynter Online—Journalism Junction. Available at
www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=54&aid=17777
.

“That was no one’s finest hour”
Goldmark to author.

“It was amateur hour”
Author interview.

“These are our bets”
Sulzberger to author.

“When people look at the
IHT

Lewis to author.

Postscript

“Raines wrote a piece about his son”
Howell Raines. “If Your Kid Says He Wants to Be a Rock Star . . . Let Him.”
Details.
October 2003.

Blair’s book was published
Hillel Italie. “Jayson Blair, Former New York Times Reporter, Has Book Deal.” Associated Press. September 10, 2003.

After New York publishing houses passed
Cesar G. Soriano. “Blair Signs Book Deal.”
USA Today
. September 11, 2003. p. D2.

the same week his company filed
David D. Kirkpatrick. “Hollywood Publisher Seeks Bankruptcy After Losing Suit.”
The New York Times
. September 11, 2003. p. C5.

New Millennium was liquidated
Paul D. Colford. “Publisher’s Story Ends.” New York
Daily News
. May 13, 2004. p. 64.

A supposedly verbatim conversation with his girlfriend
Blair,
Burning Down My Masters’ House,
pp. 3, 295.

“after a long struggle with drugs”
Ibid., p. 212.

“It is unconscionable that a journalist”
Gerald Boyd. “Blair’s Lies Spread Beyond Journalism.” Universal Press Syndicate. March 21, 2004.

“barbeque chicken sandwiches”
Blair,
Burning Down My Masters’ House,
p. 53.

Katie Couric’s
Dateline
interview Dateline NBC.
Interview with Jayson Blair by Katie Couric. NBC. Air date, March 5, 2004. NBC News Transcripts.

“Jayson Blair is on hiatus”
See
www.jayson-blair.com/appearances.htm
. Update dated April 28, 2004.

“My intention here is to perform”
Raines, “My Times.”

doesn’t remember any such incident
Author interviews.


beaten New York’s hip”
Joe Hagan. “Hurling Your Basic Rock at the Arty Crowd.”
The New York Times
. August 12, 2001. Section 2, p. 25.

had run a lead story
Jon Pareles. “White Stripes: Same Old Colors.”
The New York Times
. April 6, 2003. Section 2, p. 1.

diagnostic criteria for narcissistic Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

“The Passion of the Howell”
Author interview.

sent me an unsolicited e-mail
Gail Collins. E-mail message to author. March 24, 2004. 6:10:45 p.m.

“Having never worked for”
Martin Baron. Letter to the Editor.
The Atlantic
. July–August 2004. p. 20.

the
Times
has won five public service awards
See
www.pulitzer.org/archive/archive.htm
.

The book, as Raines described it
Howell Raines. Letter/book proposal to Mark Reiter, datelined Henryville, Penn.

The proposal was soon leaked
Paul D. Colford. “Raines to Update His Times at Times.” New York
Daily News.
July 2, 2004. p. 42.

“We caught it”
Author interview.

The book was eventually sold to Scribner
Paul D. Colford. “Scribner to Publish Raines Tale.” New York
Daily News.
July 7, 2004. p. 54.

Selected Bibliography

“Alex S. Jones Named New Director of the Shorenstein Center.”
Harvard University Gazette.
April 20, 2000. Available at
www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/04.20/shorenstein.htm
.

“At Least One Story by Jayson Blair That Was Published in The Tennessean Contained Errors Corrected Yesterday by The New York Times.”
The Tennessean.
May 11, 2003. p. 16A.

Auletta, Ken. “Opening Up The Times.”
The New Yorker.
June 28, 1993. pp. 55ff.

———. “The Howell Doctrine.”
The New Yorker.
June 10, 2002. pp. 48ff. Available at
www.kenauletta.com/howelldoctrine.htm
.

Barack, Lauren, and Keith J. Kelly. “Top Writer on Ice in New Times Scandal.”
New York Post.
May 24, 2003. p. 6.

Barber, Phil. “A Brief History of Newspapers.” Available at
www.historicpages.com/nprhist.htm
.

Barringer, Felicity. “Resign or Not to Resign? Question That Weighs on Editorial Writers.”
The New York Times.
September 18, 1998. p. A24.

———. “Taking a Stand; Why Newspapers Endorse Candidates.”
The New York Times.
November 5, 2000. Section 4, p. 1.

———. “2 Rejected Sports Columns to Be Printed by The Times.”
The New York Times.
December 7, 2002. p. A17.

Barrios, Jennifer, and April D. Bethea. “ ‘Snail-Pace’ Minority Gains Spur Concern.”
The ASNE Reporter.
April 20, 2004. Available at
www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=5173
.

Barry, Dan.
Pull Me Up.
New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2004.

Barry, Dan, David Barstow, Jonathan D. Glater, Adam Liptak, and Jacques Steinberg. “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”
The New York Times.
May 11, 2003. p. A1.

Barstow, David, and Lowell Bergman. “At a Texas Foundry, an Indifference to Life.”
The New York Times.
January 8, 2003. p. A1.

Barstow, David, and Somini Sengupta. “Judge Who Rebuffed Gore Had Run-ins with Justices.”
The New York Times.
December 8, 2000. p. A1.

Becker, Lee B., Tudor Vlad, Jisu Huh, and Nancy R. Mace. “Annual Enrollment Report: Graduate and Undergraduate Enrollments Increase Sharply.”
Journalism & Mass Communication Educator
58, no. 3 (2003): 273–300. Available at
www.grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys/Enrollment02/enroll02sum.htm
.

Berenson, Alex. “Enron’s Collapse: Selling Energy; Ex-Workers Say Unit’s Earnings Were ‘Illusory.’ ”
The New York Times.
January 25, 2002. p. A1.

Berger, Meyer.
The Story of
The New York Times
1851–1951.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1951.

Bissinger, Buzz. “Shattered Glass.”
Vanity Fair.
September 1998. pp. 176–90.

Blair, Jayson. “Media Right to Expose Wrong.”
The Diamondback.
May 7, 1999.

———. “Gerald.” In
Times Talk.
September 2001.

———. “A Rousing Rock Show for a Wounded City.”
The New York Times.
October 21, 2001. p. B10.

———. “Retracing a Trail: The Investigation; U.S. Sniper Case Seen as a Barrier to a Confession.”
The New York Times.
October 30, 2002. p. A1.

———. “Teenager’s Role Tangles Case Against Older Sniper Suspect.”
The New York Times.
December 22, 2002. p. A1.

———. “Watching, and Praying, as a Son’s Fate Unfolds.”
The New York Times.
March 24, 2003. p. B1.

———. “For One Pastor, the War Hits Home.”
The New York Times.
April 7, 2003. p. B1.

———. “Family Waits, Now Alone, for a Missing Soldier.”
The New York Times.
April 26, 2003. p. A1.

———.
Burning Down My Masters’ House.
Beverly Hills, Calif.: New Millennium, 2004.

———. Personal Website. Available at
www.jayson-blair.com
.

Blair, Jayson, and Douglas Jehl. “Rescue in Iraq and a ‘Big Stir’ in West Virginia.”
The New York Times.
April 3, 2003. p. A1.

Bonner, Raymond, and Josh Barbanel. “Democrats Rue Ballot Foul-up in a 2nd County.”
The New York Times.
November 17, 2000. p. A1.

Boyd, Gerald. “Blair’s Lies Spread Beyond Journalism.” Universal Press Syndicate. March 21, 2004.

Bragg, Rick.
All Over but the Shoutin’.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1997.

———. “Small Alabama Newspaper Prevails in Crusade to Expose Corrupt Sheriff.”
The New York Times.
June 1, 1998. p. A10.

———. “The Era of Showgirls Is Leaving Las Vegas.”
The New York Times.
March 22, 2001. p. A1.

———. “Pakistan Is 2 Worlds: One Urbane, One Enraged.”
The New York Times.
October 1, 2001. p. B1.

———. “Seeking Miracles in a Place of Cruelty and Beauty.”
The New York Times.
October 28, 2001. p. A1.

———. “An Oyster and a Way of Life, Both at Risk.”
The New York Times.
June 15, 2002. p. A1.

Brat, Ilan. “Blair Scandal Doesn’t Bog Down Boyd.”
The Arizona Republic
. October 14, 2003.

Broad, William J., Stephen Engelberg, and James Glanz. “Assessing Risks, Chemical, Biological, Even Nuclear.”
The New York Times.
November 1, 2001. p. A1.

Broad, William J., Stephen Engelberg, Judith Miller, Sheryl Gay Stolberg. “Excruciating Lessons in the Ways of a Disease.”
The New York Times.
October 31, 2001. p. A1.

Bumiller, Elisabeth. “President Notes Dissent on Iraq, Vowing to Listen.”
The New York Times.
August 1, 2002. p. A1.

Burghart, Tara. “Former New York Times Reporter Apologizes.” Associated Press. May 2, 2003.

“Business Editor Is Appointed by The Times.”
The New York Times.
January 15, 2004. p. C2.

Butterfield, Fox, and Mary B. W. Tabor. “Woman in Florida Rape Inquiry Fought Adversity and Sought Acceptance.”
The New York Times.
April 17, 1991. p. A17.

Carr, David. “The Times Names a New Chief of Its Bureau in Washington.”
The New York Times.
August 7, 2003. p. A5.

———. “New York Magazine Names an Editor from The Times.”
The New York Times.
February 12, 2004. p. C14.

Carr, David, and Janny Scott. “A Formidable Run Undone by Scandal and Discontent.”
The New York Times.
June 6, 2003. p. B8.

Catledge, Turner.
My Life and
The Times
.
New York: Harper & Row, 1971.

CBS News Sunday Morning.
“Hooked: New York Times Editor Howell Raines an Avid Fly Fisherman.” Reported by Charles Kuralt. CBS. Air date, December 5, 1993.

———. “Our Times; History, Operations and Views of
The New York Times
.” Hosted by Terence Smith. CBS. Air date, June 30, 1996.

“Changes in Senior Staff Are Made by The Times.”
The New York Times.
December 6, 1986. p. A16.

The Charlie Rose Show.
“The American Scene.” Interview with Max Frankel. PBS. Air date, April 14, 1994.

———. Interview with Max Frankel. PBS. Air date, April 5, 1999.

———. “New York Times Editor Howell Raines on 9/11 (Part I).” Interview with Howell Raines. PBS. Air date, August 6, 2002.

———. Interview with Howell Raines. PBS. Air date, July 11, 2003.

“The Chronicle Ran 3 of Blair’s Stories.”
San Francisco Chronicle,
May 11, 2003. p. A1.

Cohen, Laurie P., and Matthew Rose. “Amid Turmoil, Top Editors Resign at New York Times.”
The Wall Street Journal.
June 6, 2003. p. A1.

Colford, Paul D. “Times Editors Kill 2 Columns in Augusta Rift.” New York
Daily News.
December 4, 2002. p. 50.

———. “Times to Probe Reporter’s Stories.” New York
Daily News.
March 3, 2003. p. 17.

———. “The Times Probing ‘All the Fiction Fit to Print.’ ” New York
Daily News.
May 9, 2003. p. 48.

———. “Times Wish-List May Be One Short.” New York
Daily News.
June 20, 2003. p. 70.

———. “Publisher’s Story Ends.” New York
Daily News
. May 13, 2004. p. 64.

———. “Raines to Update His Times at Times.” New York
Daily News
. July 2, 2004. p. 42.

———. “Scribner to Publish Raines Tale.” New York
Daily News.
July 7, 2004. p. 54.

Colford, Paul D., et al. “Times Chief Says He’s Not Quitting.” New York
Daily News
. May 15, 2003. p. 7.

———. “Times Is Paper of Wreckage.” New York Daily News. June 6, 2003. p. 5.

” ‘The Communications Media, Ironically, Have Failed to Communicate’: The Kerner Report Assesses Media Coverage of Riots and Race Relations.” History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. Available at
www.historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6553
.

Conconi, Chuck, and Edwin Diamond. “Will Roberts Produce Harder Times?”
The Washingtonian.
May 1994.

Corry, John.
My Times.
New York: Putnam, 1993.

Cox, Meg, and Alix M. Freedman. “New York Times Selects Outsider as a Top Editor.”
The Wall Street Journal.
April 8, 1994. p. B1.

“Dark Days for the Gray Lady.” Associated Press. May 15, 2003.

Dateline NBC.
Interview with Jayson Blair by Katie Couric. NBC. Air date, March 5, 2004. NBC News Transcripts.

“A Dawn of Promise.” Editorial.
The New York Times.
January 21, 1993. p. A24.

“Democrats and the Fourth Estate, Cont.”
National Journal’s Congress Daily.
February 26, 1993.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
4th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

Dowd, Ann Reilly. “The Great Pretender.”
Columbia Journalism Review.
July–August 1998. p. 14. Available at http://archives.cjr.org/year/98/4/glass.asp.

Dowd, Maureen. “Howell.” In
Times Talk
.

Dumenco, Simon. “The Birth of Frankenblair.”
Folio:.
July 17, 2003. p. 7.

Editors’ Note.
The New York Times.
April 26, 1991. p. A3.

Editors’ Note.
The New Republic.
June 1, 1998. p. 8.

Editors’ Note.
The New York Times.
April 14, 2002. Section 6, p. 16.

Eichenwald, Kurt, with Diana B. Henriques. “Enron’s Many Strands: The Company Unravels; Enron Buffed Image to a Shine Even as It Rotted from Within.”
The New York Times.
February 10, 2002. p. A1.

Emling, Shelley, and Caroline Wilbert. “Times Scandal Tests Editor’s Leadership.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
June 1, 2003. p. 15A.

Engelberg, Stephen. “Book Review Lies and the Sly Liar Who Tries to Justify Them.”
The Oregonian.
March 21, 2004. p. D6.

Evans, Harold. “Beyond the Scoop.”
The New Yorker.
July 8, 1996. pp. 9–10.

“Family of Rescued Soldier Rejoices.” Associated Press. April 2, 2003.

Featherstone, Liza. “Chucking the Checkers.”
Columbia Journalism Review.
July–August 1997. Available at http://archives.cjr.org/year/97/4/checkers.asp. p. 12.

Fermino, Jennifer, Keith Kelly, and Todd Venezia. “Scandal-Broadsheet Boss: My Editor Stays—Angry Journalists Put Newspaper’s Execs on Hot Seat.”
New York Post.
May 15, 2003. p. 4.

Finke, Nikke. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers Part
Deux.

LA Weekly.
Web Exclusive Update. July 2, 2004.

Flannery, Pat. “News Editors Take Notes on Fixing Credibility.”
The Arizona Republic.
October 17, 2003. p. 3B.

Folkenflik, David. “Times’ Editors Gather Staff to Apologize for Inaction.”
Baltimore Sun.
May 15, 2003. p. D1.

———. “The Making of Jayson Blair.”
Baltimore Sun.
February 29, 2004. p. F10.

———. “USA Today’s Culture Aided Reporter’s Deception, Panel Finds; 2 More Top Editors Resign After Plagiarism Scandal.”
Baltimore Sun.
April 23, 2004. p. A1.

Frankel, Max.
The Times of My Life and My Life with
The Times
.
New York: Random House, 1999.

“From the Editors; The Times and Iraq.”
The New York Times.
May 26, 2004. p. A10.

Gardner, Mike. “NY Times Claims Kent State Football Attendance Miscounted; Angers Many.”
Daily Kent Stater
(via University Wire, Nexis). December 26, 2002.

Gelb, Arthur.
City Room.
New York: Putnam, 2003.

Getlin, Josh. “As N.Y. Times Struggles with Scandal, Editor Insists He’ll Stay.”
Los Angeles Times.
May 15, 2003. p. A1.

Glater, Jonathan D. “Adultery May Be a Sin, but It’s a Crime No More.”
The New York Times.
April 17, 2003. p. A16.

Glionna, John M. “Inmate Didn’t Get Life, So He Chose Death at 92.”
Los Angeles Times.
July 11, 2002. p. A1.

“Globe Completes Review; Backs Columnist Barnicle.”
The Boston Globe.
June 21, 1998. p. A28.

Goldmark, Peter C. “Statement of Peter C. Goldmark Jr., Chair and CEO of the International Herald Tribune, to the IHT Staff, Paris, January 20, 2003.” Poynter Online—Journalism Junction. Available at
www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=54&aid=17777
.

Gould, Jennifer, and Keith J. Kelly. “Blair’s Pal Also Leaves Newspaper.”
New York Post.
May 14, 2003. p. 4.

Greenberg, Paul. “Is Press Biased? Are You Kidding?”
The Commercial Appeal.
August 22, 1996. p. A13.

Greene, Bill. “Janet Cooke: The Players . . .”
The Washington Post.
April 19, 1981. p. A12.

Greene, Leonard, Keith J. Kelly, and Todd Venezia. “Times Change—Editor Ripped Boston ‘Plagiarist’ Paper.”
New York Post.
May 16, 2003. p. 7.

Griffin, Junius. “Anti-White Harlem Gang Reported to Number 400.”
The New York Times.
May 6, 1964. p. A1.

———. “N.A.A.C.P. Assails Reports of Gang.”
The New York Times.
May 11, 1964. p. A27.

Haberman, Clyde. “Sulzberger Passes Leadership of Times Co. to Son.”
The New York Times.
October 17, 1997. p. A1.

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