Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Opinion

Scott Allen

Newspapers have the smallest margin for error of any of the media sources we turn to for information. Writers have time to research and gather sources and then their work goes through any number of levels of editing and scrutiny before it hits newsstands. Inevitably, errors and omissions occur in newspapers; however, it isn't often that outright lies, plagiarism and fabrication of sources happen.

There have been several high-profile cases in the past few years of journalists fabricating quotes, people and places. Stephen Glass, a former writer for The New Republic, Jayson Blair, a former writer for The New York Times and former Sacramento Bee writer, Diana Griego Erwin, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for public service for the Denver Post, all fabricated numerous people, places, events and quotes in their articles and columns.

They all had one thing in common: they were caught. Recently, a State Hornet writer was found to have fabricated quotes in an article. It is shocking when someone whose job it is to correctly and accurately report on people and events for mass consumption violates the trust given to them by readers and their fellow staff members.

Investigations found that Glass had plagiarized quotes and fabricated material in more than 35 of his articles. For Blair, 36 of the 73 national news stories he had written were suspect, ranging from fabrications to copying stories from other sources. Griego Erwin had named 43 people in her columns who could not be verified.

Making up quotes in one article is inexcusable, but creating people, places and events out of thin air 30 and 40 times is creepy. What else have those people lied about? Their taxes or their arrest records? Do they cheat on their partners? These are the kinds of questions raised when people get caught lying and cheating, especially on the level of Glass, Blair and Griego Erwin.

Glass went on "60 Minutes" and explained how he fabricated his stories. He said he did it for the excitement that his stories aroused.

Blair blamed his follies on a drug problem and mental disorders and criticized The New York Times for being racist.

At the time of her resignation, Griego Erwin denied any wrongdoing and said she was resigning for personal reasons. She also claimed her sources would eventually be validated, but they never were.

These high-profile scandals are examples of habitual and compulsive deception. They didn't skew a few facts so they could make their deadlines, they knew what they were doing. While this is pure speculation, I think laziness is to blame for what the former Hornet writer did. I can't imagine a sports writer thinking he or she is going to win an award for reporting on how bad our football team lost, for example, as a reason for making up quotes.

There are plenty of Sacramento State students who plagiarize, fabricate and "cut-and-paste" their way to graduation day and are never caught. The ex-Hornet writer was doing what many college students do, except what this person did was public record. A missed deadline, an angry editor or a D paper are all acceptable. It is the loss of trust and public embarrassment that are far worse for a person when they have to tell a parent, a wife or a potential employer why their degree was revoked or why they were fired from their previous job.

The actions of one writer do not and will not diminish the integrity and commitment to accuracy that everyone at the Hornet strives for.

Scott Allen can be reached at sallen@statehornet.com.

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