Some notorious cases of journalistic malpractice.

1. Faking it
A quick overview of some notorious
cases of journalistic malpractice

2. Joseph Mitchell
• Legendary writer for
The New Yorker
• In 1944 stories about
the Fulton Fish Market,
he created a composite
• “I wanted these stories
to be truthful rather
than factual, but they
are solidly based on
facts.”

3. Joseph Mitchell
• Different era, different
standards?

4. Joseph Mitchell
• Different era, different
standards?
• What do you think of
his argument that truth
can transcend facts?

5. Janet Cooke
• Won 1981 Pulitzer for
“Jimmy’s World,” about
an 8-year-old heroin
addict
• The Washington Post
had to return the prize
• The scandal ended Bob
Woodward’s career as
an editor

6. Janet Cooke
• Why would someone
do this?

7. Janet Cooke
• Why would someone
do this?
• How could she believe
she wouldn’t get
caught?

8. Stephen Glass
• Perhaps the greatest
fabulist of them all
• “First Church of George
Herbert Walker Christ”
• Even created website of
fake organization he
had made up

9. Stephen Glass
• We depend on trust of
our editors — he
betrayed Michael Kelly

10. Stephen Glass
• We depend on trust of
our editors — he
betrayed Michael Kelly
• He’s been contrite. Is it
fair that he continue to
pay a price?

11. The Globe’s summer from hell
• Patricia Smith, Pulitzer
nominee, was suddenly
removed

12. The Globe’s summer from hell
• Patricia Smith, Pulitzer
nominee, was suddenly
removed
• Years of questions
about Mike Barnicle
were newly relevant

13. The Globe’s summer from hell
• Patricia Smith, Pulitzer
nominee, was suddenly
removed
• Years of questions
about Mike Barnicle
were newly relevant
• A.J. Liebling plagiarism,
more fabrications
ended his Globe career

14. The Globe’s summer from hell
• “Editors have to be able
to trust what reporters
and columnists write
and say. Journalists do
not make things up or
present others’ writing
and thought as their
own.” — Howell Raines,
editorial-page editor of
The New York Times

15. Jayson Blair
• Perhaps the first major
plagiarism case broken
by the internet
• Howell Raines and his
deputy, Gerald Boyd,
were forced out
• Led to the Times’ hiring
a public editor — a
position since abolished

16. Jayson Blair
• Are you surprised to
learn that editors have
a right to know the
identities of a
reporter’s anonymous
sources?

17. Jayson Blair
• Are you surprised to
learn that editors have
a right to know the
identities of a
reporter’s anonymous
sources?
• Are you surprised to
learn that Raines never
checked?

18. Mike Daisey
• Fabricated story in 2012
about labor conditions
in China
• “This American Life”
ran an hour-long
retraction
• Back to Mitchell: Daisey
said he told a larger
truth beyond facts

19. Mike Daisey
• In an era when
journalism is seeking
new modes of
storytelling and
connection, do
problems such as this
become more likely?

20. Brian Williams
• Suspended for six
months after lying
about Iraq war incident
• Other instances came
up, including one
related to Katrina
• Demoted to MSNBC but
continues to hold a
prominent position

21. Brian Williams
• Why do you think NBC
News didn’t fire him
outright?

22. Brian Williams
• Why do you think NBC
News didn’t fire him
outright?
• Does it matter that he
didn’t tell these lies as
part of his newscast?

23. Kevin Cullen
• Respected columnist
known for his Whitey
Bulger coverage
• Investigation prompted
by talk radio found he’d
fabricated details about
marathon bombing in
interviews and remarks
• Suspended for three
months

24. Kevin Cullen
• As with Williams,
should it have mattered
that Cullen’s fictions
were not in the Globe?

25. Kevin Cullen
• As with Williams,
should it have mattered
that Cullen’s fictions
were not in the Globe?
• What should he do to
re-establish trust with
his audience?

26. Discussion
• What can news organizations do to prevent such
incidents from happening?

27. Discussion
• What can news organizations do to prevent such
incidents from happening?
• Do you think the public is surprised by such
incidents? Or that it expects very little of us?

28. Discussion
• What can news organizations do to prevent such
incidents from happening?
• Do you think the public is surprised by such
incidents? Or that it expects very little of us?
• Would it help if positions such as public editor and
ombudsmen were restored and taken seriously?