This blows me away. Journalists are slowly but surely going the way of snake oil peddlers, car salesman and even advertising people. Critics of bloggers have been quick to point out that unlike "true" journalists, bloggers don't follow the ethics and standards that journalists adhere to. Things like verifying a story, corroborating witness or interview claims and the like. But this guy working on arguably one of the best newspapers in the world rips portions of a story off a small Texas newspaper. And who's watching him? And this isn't the first time.
[...] Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr. criticized a Blair story in the Times that quoted unnamed sources as saying teenage suspect Lee Boyd Malvo was responsible for most or all of the 13 shootings that left 10 people dead. [...] Horan said much of the story was "dead wrong." [...] Blair wrote a story charging that Kent State University was miscounting its football attendance, university officials accused him of lying. The piece included quotes from Pete Mahoney, the school's associate athletic director, but Mahoney told the Daily Kent Stater that Blair had never contacted him [...] In October 2001, the Times carried two corrections on a Blair story about a Madison Square Garden benefit concert for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. The first one said he had misstated the price of the top tickets -- they were $10,000, not $1,000 -- and misquoted former president Bill Clinton. The second one said he had improperly described a Woody Allen film and that "the article also included two performers erroneously among the participants. Bono and the Edge, of the band U2, were scheduled to appear but canceled before the concert." [...]
So this reporter, Blair, decides to quit amidst an investigation conducted by his bosses. Sure, one reporter's actions doesn't mean all reporters are alike. But this bozo got caught. And it's a running joke amongst anyone who has been misquoted by the press: "What do you expect?".
It's sad because I can see the next chapter in this story. The reporter finds hot shot lawyer. Lawyer and reporter sue the New York Times for inflicting emotional stress, libel and wrongful dismissal. Reporter goes on to get book contract that exposes the dirty underpinnings of the newspaper business. Book gets turned into movie. Reporter appears on Letterman, Leno and Larry King. Journalism schools across the nation enter a bidding war to get him to speak or issue honorary degrees.
Ah. Am I cynical? You betcha. But it does make a good story.
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Did you hear about the 
This blows me away. Journalists are slowly but surely going the way of snake oil peddlers, car salesman and even advertising people. Critics of bloggers have been quick to point out that unlike "true" journalists, bloggers don't follow the ethics and standards that journalists adhere to. Things like verifying a story, corroborating witness or interview claims and the like. But this guy working on arguably one of the best newspapers in the world rips portions of a story off a small Texas newspaper. And who's watching him? And this isn't the first time. 
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