Jayson Blair and Journalism

Plagiarism is a word that will make any journalist cringe at its mention. Credibility defines a reporter. When these two terms collide in a mess of lies and deception the result for a journalist is sudden death. Jayson Blair is a primary example of how indiscretion and selfish desire can lead not only to the destruction of a career, but alter the very core of the journalistic system.

Jayson Blair was exactly where a young aspiring journalist would want to be. He was a correspondent for the New York Times, arguably the most credible and respected newspaper publication in the nation. Twenty-seven years old and at the prime of his journalistic career he seemed to have the world at his fingertips, that is, if he could only stand out. Blair made a choice that he thought would set him apart from his counterparts and so it did, perhaps in a way he never expected.

Blair became the poster boy journalistic fraud after he was discovered for plagiarizing and fabricating stories throughout his career with the New York Times. There was no second chance for Blair. He had tampered with the very fabric of his career and the result was far more serious than imagined. Jayson Blair had successfully burned a hole in the collective trust of the American public, a gap where speculation, dishonor and distrust met the angry questions of a public in want of the truth.

Many have studied the case of Jayson Blair. Journalists have investigated his lies in search of some truth. Editors have pillaged old systems and created new ones in hopes of stopping another attack on media ethics. Most prominently however, wide-eyed journalism students study his career in a state of virtual disgust as professor's use him as a primary example of disgrace and dishonor.

As such, Jayson Blair has become a teaching tool, a blueprint for what not to be when journalism students enter their trade. His lies and manipulation are lessons in the importance of credibility and responsibility. Blair teaches every aspiring journalist that it is possible for a single person to ruin the reputation of an entire industry and that shame is the only result of such blatant and desperate measures for fame and attention. Though still wet behind the ears, the young journalist who learns the tale of Jayson Blair instantly realizes the gravity of his or her chosen path. The young journalist realizes the gravity of the issue and the profound effect it has had on the field they so eagerly await to enter.

The importance of the event is difficult to negate as Blair temporary brought a media giant to its knees. Though he was primarily affected in terms of his career, he had instantly brought into question the credibility of the news media and the potential for fiction to be printed as fact. The New York Times was questioned for its journalistic ethics and drilled on how it could have let so many falsifications seep onto the pages of what they boasted to be credible and responsible news. If a media agency as large and reputable as the New York Times was being abused by a single journalist, how many other organizations, great or small were letting lies slip through the cracks into the hands of dependent readers? Editors began to change the way they scrutinized work. Systems were tightened up and newspapers were being scowled for anything that could potentially destroy their reputation. The public, already skeptical of media slant, began to realize how easily they could be manipulated and a new breed of distrust was born.

Blair's actions had a profoundly lasting affect on newsrooms across the nation. It wasn't simply the New York Times that was to worry. Smaller and less supported newspapers began to tighten up their processes and lay down stricter fact checking rules. If the New York Times could be brought to its knees by one mans fabrications surely it was not unforeseeable for a smaller publication, or even one of similar magnitude to escape such scrutiny. Newsrooms have not been the same since Blair tarnished the codes of journalistic ethics. Publications have not been run in the same manner or system since Blair exhibited how poor journalism can so easily be overlooked. Journalists have not reported in the same way since Blair proved that poor notes and dead-end sources could bring into question a centuries old industry.

Jayson Blair however is not alone in his abuse of ethics. Many others have breached the code of honor that exists amongst journalists and that builds the trust between them and their public. Others before him have lost sight of ethics and responsibility while in pursuit of bylines and headline stories. In search of the perfect story and the prestige and respect that stems from unique and engaging reporting, several young journalists have made vital mistakes and have faced the consequences. The fast paced nature of the career often times lends itself to the belief that small fabrications or alterations will hold no consequence in the larger scheme of things. Then, as tweaks turn to habits that turn to reliance, a young journalist suddenly finds himself in a web of lies that no amount of imagination can fee him from. This is as much the story of Stephen Glass as it is of Jayson Blair.

Stephen Glass had the same desire to be deemed unique but perhaps his desire was more a passionate pursuit than Blair's lethargic tactics that seemed to stem from sheer laziness. Both reporters were young and successful for their age and experience. They both had coveted positions and were seen with great potential. Both wanted more than what they had the power or perhaps in Blair's case, the desire, to retrieve. Glass had a deep desire to entertain. Blair seemed to simply want an easy way to a byline. In essence however, their similarities and differences in tactic and personality weigh little as the result of their actions were far more profound.

Jayson Blair is a name that will resonate within the journalism community for decades to come. Few who knew him will forget his disgrace to the field. The many who heard of him will always remember the outrage he caused. Those who study him will constantly be warned that journalism is just as responsible for depicting truth and upholding honor as the government we rely on and the founding documents that guide us.