Burning Down My Masters House
There was a big stink about this novel when it came out. There was a big stink when it was clear that the author had in fact invented stories for newspaper that had been held in such high journalistic esteem.
Yes. The New York Times. That pedestal of journalistic integrity. So of course it was big news that one of its reports invented stories and plagarized unbeknownst to all. However, after reading the book, how could anyone have known? Journalists are notorious for deadline articles that get breezed over by editors and fact checkers it's amazing more instances aren't brought to light on a daily basis.
What really interesting about the novel is the amount of trust editors, corporate tycoons and readers have in the journalists whose articles and columns they read. This incident, the Steven Glass incident and others have shattered that trust. It has shined a light in a rather dark place for the media as a whole.
And he doesn't pull punches. He admits he was wrong but didn't little to try and rectify the sitution. I can understand reluctance to leave a position, any position, of the New York Times. Just having your name associated with it lends an air of prestigue.
What that says is that he lost his sense of duty, as seems to be a chronic problem in journalism today. He put the deadline and the pressure-cooker of the newsroom before the foundation of journalism: sound reporting. He cut too many corners and got caught. It went right down the line to the editor-in-chief.
With my work in online marketing, it makes me thinkg of DMOZ, which is part of the Open-Directory Project. Many many errors are caught in the editing process, yet many still make it through which is why readership and responses are important. They catch errors like those described in this book and point them out not to blame someone for missing it or screwing up, but to show them were there is a kink in the chain that needs to be fixed.
It is still an excellent read, and a fascinating insight into manic and psychotic episodes and how it effects one's personal and professional life. Another reason why people need to pay attention to each other and do something when there is something wrong instead of thinking someone else will do it.
No one did it here and it cost the author his job and the New Times its reputation, not to mention the shattering of an already fragile trust of the media.
Yes. The New York Times. That pedestal of journalistic integrity. So of course it was big news that one of its reports invented stories and plagarized unbeknownst to all. However, after reading the book, how could anyone have known? Journalists are notorious for deadline articles that get breezed over by editors and fact checkers it's amazing more instances aren't brought to light on a daily basis.
What really interesting about the novel is the amount of trust editors, corporate tycoons and readers have in the journalists whose articles and columns they read. This incident, the Steven Glass incident and others have shattered that trust. It has shined a light in a rather dark place for the media as a whole.
And he doesn't pull punches. He admits he was wrong but didn't little to try and rectify the sitution. I can understand reluctance to leave a position, any position, of the New York Times. Just having your name associated with it lends an air of prestigue.
What that says is that he lost his sense of duty, as seems to be a chronic problem in journalism today. He put the deadline and the pressure-cooker of the newsroom before the foundation of journalism: sound reporting. He cut too many corners and got caught. It went right down the line to the editor-in-chief.
With my work in online marketing, it makes me thinkg of DMOZ, which is part of the Open-Directory Project. Many many errors are caught in the editing process, yet many still make it through which is why readership and responses are important. They catch errors like those described in this book and point them out not to blame someone for missing it or screwing up, but to show them were there is a kink in the chain that needs to be fixed.
It is still an excellent read, and a fascinating insight into manic and psychotic episodes and how it effects one's personal and professional life. Another reason why people need to pay attention to each other and do something when there is something wrong instead of thinking someone else will do it.
No one did it here and it cost the author his job and the New Times its reputation, not to mention the shattering of an already fragile trust of the media.
posted by Gwynne at
10:03 PM
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