Last modified on April 9, 2019, at 15:43

Jayson Blair

Jayson Blair was a reporter for the New York Times who was forced to resign in 2003 following allegations of plagiarism and other ethical shortcomings. One of his articles was found to be extremely similar to an article about the family of an American soldier in Iraq that had been recently written by Macarena Hernandez, a writer for the San Antonio Express-News. A review of Blair's work history was undergone, and other instances of plagiarism were found, as well of examples where Blair had completely fabricated information. Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. called the Blair scandal "a low point" in the history of the publication.[1] The scandal led to a large internal review of Times policies, and led to the resignation of two top editors.[2]

Blair had been promoted despite the fact that problems with his work had been previously detected, such as quoting individuals who later claimed they had never spoken with Blair.[3] His correction rate during the time period of 1998 to 2000 was above 5% - high enough to warrant scrutiny, yet Blair continued to slip through the cracks.

References