Hard News (40 page)

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

“I couldn’t throw it away”
Kramon to author.

“Zuza
[
Glowacka
]
encouraged me”
Blair,
Burning Down My Masters’ House
, p. 273.

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

“fully psychotic”
Blair,
Burning Down My Masters’ House
, p. 287.

he was writing from inside
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

“He did not seem to have”
Roberts to author.

Blair’s April 26, 2003, front-page story
Blair, “Family Waits, Now Alone, for a Missing Soldier.”

Resignation

“I was still wondering”
Roberts to author.

“Many people in my newsroom”
Rivard to author.

“We believe your Houston reporter”
Robert Rivard. Letter to Bill Keller. March 30, 1999.

“Having reported for a couple”
Bill Keller. Letter to Robert Rivard. April 7, 1999.

“It’s not quite plagiarism”
Howard Kurtz. “New York Times Story Gives Texas Paper Sense of Déjà Vu; San Antonio Editor Cites ‘Damning’ Similarity.”
The Washington Post
. April 30, 2003. p. C1.

Wemple, who had written
Wemple, “Sniping Coverage.”

“The first words out of his mouth”
Kurtz to author.

Wemple’s story indicated
Erik Wemple. “Repeat Performance.”
Washington City Paper
. May 2, 2003.

“Dear Bob”
Author interview.

“He just seemed nervous”
Williams to author.

“I said I was an expert”
Haberman to author.

Haberman, who had been banned
Elizabeth Kolbert. “Tumult in the Newsroom.”
The New Yorker
. June 30, 2003. See also Talese,
The Kingdom and the Power,
pp. 377–81.

Gerald Boyd got hold of
Roberts to author.

Blair sent a letter
Sridhar Pappu. “Off the Record.”
The New York Observer
. May 12, 2003.

The New York Times
ran its first
Jacques Steinberg. “Times Reporter Resigns After Questions on Article.”
The New York Times.
May 2, 2003. p. A30.

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

“trouble with basics”
Paul D. Colford. “Times to Probe Reporter’s Stories.” New York
Daily News
. March 3, 2003. p. 17.

“this was a promising” Reliable Sources.
Hosted by Howard Kurtz. CNN. Air date May 4, 2003. Transcript available at
www.cnn.com/transcripts/0305/04/rs.00.htm
.

who himself had been snookered
Jack Shafer. “The Jayson Blair Project: How Did He Bamboozle the
New York Times
?” Available at
www.slate.com/id/2082741
. May 8, 2003.

Jacques Steinberg had arrived
Steinberg to author.

Reston’s career at the
Times James Reston.
Deadline.
New York: Random House, 1991.

Lorne Manly, the
Times
’s
Manly to author.

“It was suggested to me”
Steinberg to author.

Blair, she said, was covering
Williams to author.

“I keep trying”
Manly to author.

“No, no, no, he didn’t come”
Steinberg, “Times Reporter Resigns After Questions on Article.”

“David Shaw treatment”
David Shaw. “A Business Deal Done—a Controversy Born.”
Los Angeles Times
. December 20, 1999. p. V1.

“I was thinking about Reston”
Steinberg to author.

“We both knew there was more”
Manly to author.

A Team Assembled

“I had no idea”
Liptak to author.

The whole time he was practicing
Glater to author.

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

“Well, at least you went”
Glater and Liptak to author.

a follow-up to a three-part
David Barstow and Lowell Berman. “At a Texas Foundry, an Indifference to Life.”
The New York Times
. January 8, 2003. p. A1.

“On his best day”
Barstow to author.

“You’re suddenly looking”
Steinberg to author.

“It was similar to a litigation”
Liptak to author.

“He couldn’t believe”
Steinberg to author.

“Fairly early on”
Liptak to author.

“He had a kind of mental rigor”
Siegal to author.

“I had never worked with Jayson”
Kramon to author.

“It became clear that we could not”
Steinberg to author.

The closest parallel to the team’s endgame
A. H. Raskin. “The Strike: A Step-by-Step Account.”
The New York Times
. April 1, 1964. p. A1.

Blood Brothers, a black youth gang
Junius Griffin. “Anti-White Harlem Gang Reported to Number 400.”
The New York Times
. May 6, 1964. p. A1. Also, Junius Griffin, “N.A.A.C.P. Assails Reports of Gang.”
The New York Times
. May 11, 1964. p. A27.

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

calling the Bowman piece a “mistake”
Anna Quindlen. “A Mistake.”
The New York Times
. April 21, 1991. Section 4, p. 17.

a defensive editors’ note
Editors’ Note.
The New York Times
. April 26, 1991. p. A3.

an unbylined story
“On Names in Rape Cases.”
The New York Times
. April 17, 1991. p. A17.

asked Marty Baron
Marty Baron. “Re: Lewinsky story sourcing.” Memo to Joe Lelyveld and Bill Keller. February 15, 1998.

“Joe wanted me to just examine”
Jones to author.

They commissioned an editors’ note
“The Times and Wen Ho Lee.” Editors’ Note.
The New York Times
. September 26, 2000. p. A2.

Jones was no longer under contract
Jones to author.

a dispatch from Hunt Valley, Maryland
Jayson Blair. “Watching, and Praying, as a Son’s Fate Unfolds.”
The New York Times
. March 24, 2003. p. B1.

one from April 7 in Cleveland
Jayson Blair. “For One Pastor, the War Hits Home.”
The New York Times
. April 7, 2003. p. B1.

In the middle of the meeting
Steinberg to author.

From Portland, Barstow asked
Barstow to author.

By Friday evening, the paper’s top
Kramon to author.

“It was a good story”
Barry to author.

“Anytime you’re doing a project”
Landman to author.

One Week in May

“We had no idea how deep”
Barstow to author.

“It was starting to sink in”
Liptak to author.

“That day, I remember my shoulders”
Glater to author.

“We just bawled like babies”
Jayson Blair and Douglas Jehl. “Rescue in Iraq and a ‘Big Stir’ in West Virginia.”
The New York Times
. April 3, 2003. p. A1. Also, “Family of Rescued Soldier Rejoices.” Associated Press. April 2, 2003.

Haraz Ghanbari was a freelance photographer
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

Late on Sunday, May 4
Barstow, Manly, Siegal, Barstow, Barry, Steinberg, and Glater to author.

April 2002 e-mail from Jon Landman
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

such a large headline type
Auletta, “The Howell Doctrine.”

“They half begged and half demanded”
Siegal to author.

“
[
Later that week
]
I interviewed”
Barstow to author.

“None of the reporters took glee”
Barry to author.

“It was excruciating”
Steinberg to author.

“I’d walk around”
Barry to author.

“That night, I couldn’t sleep”
Glater to author.

“We were seeing indications”
Steinberg to author.

“It was an amazing story”
Barstow to author.

“the level of journalistic crime”
Barry to author.

Manly reported to Al Siegal
Manly to author.

“
[
Monday, May 5
]
was the one time”
Kramon to author.

Everyone froze
Manly to author.

“We knew they wanted us”
Liptak to author.

“I just went and said”
Barry to author.

“When we were talking”
Glater to author.

Had he been the one
Liptak to author.

“I was calling him”
Steinberg to author.

“I have a story”
C. J. Chivers. “Re: far from home.” E-mail message. March 1, 2003. 12:51:06 a.m.

“my shirt was getting rancid”
Barstow to author.

“I get to the front desk”
Barry to author.

The Westin had recently introduced
Available at Westin Hotels & Resorts company website,
www.starwood.com/westin/service/reservations_service.htm
.

the last time they would talk
Barry and Barstow to author.

“Clearly, if you’re putting a story”
Siegal to author.

Raines appeared on PBS’s
NewsHour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
“The Search for Truth.” Reported by Terence Smith. PBS. Air date, May 9, 2003. Transcript available at
www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june03/blair_05-09.htm
.

“I said to the other guys”
Steinberg to author.

“It was pretty palpable”
Barstow to author.

“We weren’t looking”
Barry to author.

“We all in some way love”
Barstow to author.

The
Times
’s Report

“drunk the Kool-Aid”
Mathis to author.

pieces of the
Times
report
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

That Sunday,
The Denver Post “Writer’s Work Published in the Denver Post.”
The Denver Post
. May 11, 2003. p. A10. Also, “The Chronicle Ran 3 of Blair’s Stories.”
San Francisco Chronicle.
May 11, 2003. p. A1. Also, “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.

The
Orlando Sentinel
ran
Manning Pynn. “Squander Credibility and All Is Lost.”
Orlando Sentinel
. May 11, 2003. p. G3. Also, “Most of Reporter’s Articles Had Problems, New York Times Says.”
Orlando Sentinel
. May 11, 2003. p. A22.

Reaction in the newsroom was mixed
Author interviews.

“We were very proud of the piece”
Liptak to author.

“We were all half waiting”
Barstow to author.

“We were sort of wondering”
Liptak to author.

Norris walked around the newsroom
Norris to author.

Raines sent out an e-mail
Howell Raines. “A Message to the Staff by Howell Raines.” E-mail message. May 12, 2003. 5:40:08 p.m.

“We hit
[
Raines
]
pretty squarely”
Haberman to author.

“There was a sense”
Barstow to author. Also, Jacques Steinberg. “Editor of Times Tells Staff He Accepts Blame for Fraud.”
The New York Times
. May 15, 2003. p. A31. Also, Howard Kurtz. “To the Editors: How Could This Happen?; N.Y. Times Staff, Execs in ‘Painful and Honest’ Meeting over Plagiarism Fiasco.”
The Washington Post
. May 15, 2003. p. C1.

Writing about this period
Raines, “My Times.”

A Fateful Gathering

Sheila Sharkey, a tourist
Paul D. Colford et al. “Times Chief Says He’s Not Quitting.” New York
Daily News
. May 15, 2003. Also, Josh Getlin. “As N.Y. Times Struggles with Scandal, Editor Insists He’ll Stay.”
Los Angeles Times
. May 15, 2003.

the
Times
had confirmed
“New York Times: Ex-Reporter Faces Fraud Inquiry.” Available at
www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/05/13/ny.times.investigation
. May 13, 2003.

“I wanted to show solidarity”
Siegal to author.

“You’re too young”
Tifft and Jones,
The Trust,
p. 655.

“I’ve received a lot of advice”
“Dark Days for the Gray Lady.” Associated Press. May 15, 2003.

“Does that mean I personally”
“Profile of Howell Raines.” Associated Press. June 5, 2003.

“Whatever slack I was cutting”
Raines, “My Times.”

“Did I pat him on the back?”
Kurtz, “To the Editors.”

Shaila Dewan
Author interview.

Jack Rosenthal, Raines’s predecessor
Rosenthal to author.

“It only became scary to me”
Siegal to author.

“Closing The Times’s”
Francis W. Rodgers. “Jayson Blair: Fallout Goes On.” Letter to the Editor.
The New York Times
. May 16, 2003. p. A26.

he sent out an e-mail
Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

The Fallout

The Blair-authored profile
Blair. “Gerald.”