New York Times: reporter claimed it was routine practice for freelances to write large chunks of articles
Posted on 05/31/2003 11:46:54 AM PDT by Timesink
11.30am
|
New York Times: reporter claimed it was routine practice for freelances to write large chunks of articles |
A Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times reporter has quit the paper after he was accused of drawing too heavily on the work of a freelance writer, in a further embarrassing episode for the scandal-hit newspaper.
Rick Bragg, a national correspondent based in New Orleans, tendered his resignation last night to the New York Times' executive editor, Howell Raines, after the paper published an editor's statement admitting he had relied heavily on the work of a freelance reporter for an article about Florida oyster farmers.
The admission followed the scandal created by a former New York Times reporter, Jayson Blair, who was sacked after he was found by to have "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud".
Fellow journalists on the New York Times were dismayed when Bragg claimed it was routine practice at the paper for freelances to write large chunks of articles, leading to a day of heated phone calls and emails yesterday.
Last night Bragg told a telephone interviewer he was resigning "of his own accord", the New York Times reported today.
"After a whole day of, I don't want to say animosity, but just thinking that more days like this, even one more day, was too much," Bragg told the interviewer.
Raines told staff on the paper: "Rick Bragg has offered his resignation and I have accepted it."
It is believed Bragg was suspended from writing for the paper for a fortnight last week, although the New York Times has refused to comment on this.
On May 1 27-year-old Blair resigned from the New York Times after it was discovered he had fabricated and plagiarised stories.
The newspaper reported on its front page that Blair had committed "frequent acts of journalistic fraud" after he was discovered lifting material from the San Antonio News Express and using it in the pretence he had interviewed the family of a soldier killed in the Gulf war.
It later transpired that Blair had often pretended to be in places he was not and had invented interviews with unnamed sources when working on major stories, including the case of the Washington sniper.
In an effort to be as open as possible about the affair, the New York Times devoted four broadsheet pages to revealing the details of its investigation into Blair, who has since hit back by branding the paper a racist "snake pit".
The New York Times has since revealed it is also investigating the work of several other reporters, prompting speculation Raines may be forced to resign over the affair.
Last week Rupert Murdoch's New York Post confessed to its own minor scandal, when it named and shamed freelance Robin Gregg for lifting an article from the National Enquirer about US talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford.
The New York Post editor, Col Allan, said Gregg would never contribute to the paper again.
 |
 Schadenfreude  |
Well, Howell, is it routine practice for freelances to write large chunks of articles?
Wait a minute. Who am I asking? Howell Raines is obviously no stranger to lies, so if he says, "No, it's not routine", do I believe him?
And if he says, "Yes, it is routine", do I believe him?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.