NY TIMES SET TO SLAM JAYSON BLAIR 'TELL ALL'

Drudge Report ^ | March 7, 2004

[RWR8189]

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN MAR 7, 2004 22:10:18 ET XXXXX

NY TIMES SET TO SLAM JAYSON BLAIR 'TELL ALL'

The NEW YORK TIMES is set to trash disgraced former reporter Jayson Blair's alleged tell-all account behind the journalism scandal that rocked the Old Gray Lady and forced the resignations of Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd in the Summer of '03.

"Should you believe anything written by a serial liar?" Jack Shafer, on loan from Slate.com, begins his dissection of 'Burning Down My Master's House' -- a review that is set for publication next week in the TIMES esteemed book section.

From there Shafer unleashes a barrage of insults including the assesment that "Burning Down My Master's House" is a "shoddily written and filibustering book."

"Far from solving the Jayson Blair enigma," Shafer writes, "this sloppy, padded and dishonest work only adds to his growing word count of lies."

More snippets:

"...contrition is a dish served not at all in this memoir."

"From the heights of confession, Blair rappels down Mount Excuse, blaming everybody but himself for his offenses."

"It appears that Blair has always been a thief, something 'Burning Down My Master's House' neglects to mention."

"Every con man loves his con, and few are as lucky as Blair to enshrine their version in book form."

"The Times is a flawed, human institution that deserved every brick tossed at it except this one. Jayson Blair is a confessed con man, and 'Burning Down My Master's House' is just another installment in his ongoing con."

Developing...

[goldstategop]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh... and what's changed at The Gray Lady since Jayson Blair's forced depature?

[Feiny]

He probably stole someones elses book on the topic......

[Mears]

I was appalled that Katie Couric had him on and interviwed him,giving him free publicity for his book.

He's a pathological liar and should be ignored.A very strange,arrogant con man.

[Torie]

The New York times has also tightened up its rules on articles using anonymous sources. Amoung other things, someone on the editorial staff must know the reporter's anonymous source. That is most excellent. Many anonymous sources are just spin artists.

[InvisibleChurch]

will the times put it on their bestseller list? hmmm?

Woo hoo!

[goldstategop]

Do you really trust liberals to tell the truth? I don't think the atmosphere at the NYT has changed all that much even if they tightened a rule here and there. Its worldview is till monochromatic Democrat.

[Torie]

Of course The Times will remain the preeminent liberal paper of record. The issue is whether they cheat or just advocate. I think they are making reasonable efforts to cut out the cheating and the spin without full disclosure. We shall see.

[RWR8189]

But now they got a special team to study conservatives!

Obviously they're making strides toward being fair and balanced.

[/sarcasm]

[jwalsh07]

They cheat by omission, that is the main vehicle for liberal bias in newsprint and photo journalism with the Bush recent ad campaign being a prime example of same.

[Hildy]

A very strange,arrogant con man.

...who should be in jail. Is it too late to press charges. He defrauded the TIMES out of money, that would be a good start.

[Kowdawg]

I won't be buying it. My guess is that the NYT has a stake in this book and is trying to stir up publicity, a.k.a. The Passion of the Christ.

A book written by a liar about the liars he worked for. Big deal.

[Torie]

Ya what is covered, and what is not, and where, is the prime source of bias. Just switch back and forth between CBS news and Foxnews. It is amazing to "see" it in action. But in this day and age, with so many voices being heard, I think that it is grand. Bias is called out rapidly on the internet, and the blogs, and it is a restraining force on the rich and powerful media. America is a more perfect democracy as a result.

[Atchafalaya]

In the immortal words of Jerrold "the Hut" Nadler I paraphrase "I detect a scent of Racism". But that's just me.

[Torie]

And to think a regular on NPR trashed the J'accuse on the Bush ads. I see some positive trends. But then I tend to be an optimist.

[jwalsh07]

Not yet bu we're working on it. Bloggers only appeal to bloggees.

The overwhlming majority of folk still get their news from Dan, Tom and that Canadian idiot.

[Betaille]

This is exactly what Bernard Goldberg says they will do when someone exposes them.

[jwalsh07]

And to think a regular on NPR trashed the J'accuse on the Bush ads. I see some positive trends. But then I tend to be an optimist.

And who might that be? Certainly not Bill Moyers. :-}

[Torie]

Their is a leach back from the blogs. That was my point. One can't go too far into bias territory, without having to deal with throwback.

[Torie]

No, not Bill Moyers. It was one of their house media critics, who took some pains to make clear he was not a Bush admirer, which made it all the more effective.