The Other Blair

By now, you’ve heard about the Jayson Blair story, so I won’t write a thorough summary of this extraordinary debacle at The New York Times. But here’s a brief overview: a young reporter for the The Times committed unparalled acts of plagiarism, fabrication, and deceit. The paper reports that it is “a low point in the 152-year history of the newspaper.” If you have about ten hours to spare, read this fascinating, disturbing 7,000 word beast of a mea culpa in last Sunday’s edition. Or maybe “mea culpa” isn’t quite accurate, as the core of the story is that the paper was bamboozled by Blair–it was a victim. It occasionally touches down on management failure, but largely just chronicles this guy’s mind-boggling, almost comical, ability to get away with just about anything. For a few choice incidents, read this story in The Washington Post (which incidentally has just catapaulted miles past The Times in the prestige department–it is now the best paper in America).

Everyone who has followed this story knows (deep down anyway) the crux of the issue: race. It is, as a friend pointed out to me today, “the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.” Jayson Blair is African-American. It wasn’t his skin color that caused his serious lapses in judgment of course. But The Times is guilty of swapping its own integrity for a more diverse staff. Blair did not graduate from college, yet got a job at the nation’s most reputable (cough, gasp) newspaper. OK, cool. Maybe he was a hungry young man and impressed his interviewers with his energy, drive, and ambition. Once on board he was put on probation more than once. In fact, at a pivotal moment, the Metro editor fired off an email to a colleague mandating that Blair should “never again write for the paper.” Yet rather than demoting him, he sailed up the ranks, lying, plagiarizing, and distorting events (in at least 36 articles) the whole way. Finally, The New York Times, the paper of record, has come to a crossroads. It can acknowledge that race played a role in Blair’s advancement, knowingly selling out accuracy and excellence in its well-intentioned goal of promoting diversity in the newsroom. Or, it can say race had nothing to do with his hiring and promotion, thus leading all of us to believe that this incredible tale is not unique–that other writers, past and present, have pulled similar stunts.

I’m looking forward to the day when race is not the elephant in the living room. One of my most memorable, rewarding classes in college centered on slavery-related literature. The racial makeup of the class was close to half black, half white. After a few classroom discussions, it was clear that almost the entire class was opinionated, thoughtful, and ready to question their peers’ assumptions and attitudes. As the weeks progressed, a neat thing happened: we started to bond and really let our guards down. I remember the occasional awkward moment, when someone would make an assertion, or ask a clumsy question, or not use the right language– but instead of being smeared a racist, or made to be a fool, they were allowed some breathing room. It was an intellectually stimulating, soul-searching roller coaster ride, with race taking center stage. Everyone knew it was special–if we could just recreate this environment outside the classroom, significant progress might be achieved in the sensitive world of race relations…

May 15th, 2003