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06-11-2005, 01:25 AM
|  | Forum Code Administrator | | Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: PA
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| | Would you donate money to this? | |
Remember Jayson Blair, the infamous "journalist" from the New York Times who faked datelines, plagiarized stories and then wrote a "poor me" book called "Burning Down My Master's House"?
I just read a book about the whole NY Times Mess( Hard News : The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media ) and was curious to see if Blair was ever able to get a job again after so much national attention.
Well, yes and no. He's making money, but not as an employee. He is paid to speak about his fall from grace and mental health issues.  Only in America.
Anyhoo. He has a web site in which he writes about himself in third person. http://www.jayson-blair.com/
And, he's starting a non-profit and will be seeking donations. OK. His parents have the non-profit with his "help and encouragement". But, according to the site, it's Jayson who will be doing the work (which translates to me of getting the money)
The guy was fired in the national media for lying. Would you give him money?
Amy
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06-11-2005, 06:10 AM
|  | Registered Member | | Join Date: Jul 2003
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
When has that ever stopped anyone in America from giving someone money? I mean, if we ever stopped giving people money because they lied to us, the national economy would crash.
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06-11-2005, 07:35 AM
|  | thread-killa | | Join Date: Dec 2000
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Quote: | eris esoteric said
When has that ever stopped anyone in America from giving someone money? I mean, if we ever stopped giving people money because they lied to us, the national economy would crash. |  She's right, you know. |
06-11-2005, 12:34 PM
|  | Schmoopy Woopy | | Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: A stone's throw from Geezerville, FLA
Posts: 5,289
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
No, I wouldn't send him money. But I might write and sell a story saying I did. :fire: |
06-11-2005, 12:36 PM
|  | Epinions Members | | Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Longview, Texas, USA
Posts: 1,498
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Didn't Stephen Glass make millions on his tell all book after defrauding the New Republic? Every once in a while I even see his stories quoted on a blog.. |
06-11-2005, 01:03 PM
|  | Epinions Members | | Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Buffalo, NY, U.S.A.
Posts: 2,309
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Remember when people were famous for something they'd done that was admirable, or at least entertaining? I miss those days.
Blair should not profit from his misdeeds. Neither should Glass. I'm still bitter that Robert McNamara was able to publish a book. If it could be done without chilling free expression, I'd favor a kind of Son of Sam law for anyone trying to profit from doing something they shouldn't have. |
06-11-2005, 02:30 PM
|  | Epinions Members | | Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northeast Malibu
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
I've heard that the runaway bride, Jennifer Willbanks, is selling her story for a movie of the week.
It's getting so why do an honest day's work? Do something totally outrageous, ride that instant news celebrity wave and then sell your story.
Let's see. What can I do that isn't illegal but is new and wild and will get the news cameras on me for at least a week?
Maybe I can claim my father is the other Deep Throat!
Have an affair with someone who kills his pregnant wife!
Get on the jury for the next celebrity murder/child molestation case! |
06-11-2005, 02:39 PM
| | Epinions Members | | Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Longview, Texas, USA
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Can we think of any 'positive' event lately that has generated the stories that rise to the level of Scott Peterson, Jackson, or Wilbanks?
I am trying to think of one now... and the closest I can think of is that young girl who survived a shark attack while surfing and went back to surfing... That was barely a blip on the radar..
Pretty sad, make up fake stories or kill your wife and you are a hero.. Overcome extreme hardships and you barely get a mention on the news..
OH, I do remember the big news story now is positive.. Katie Holmes overcomes the fact that her new boyfriend is her grandpa's age and worships aliens to find true love.... Yep, big news ::toung in cheek:: |
06-11-2005, 02:51 PM
|  | In Spanish, I'm Marijuana | | Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Lawn-Guy-Land, NY
Posts: 29,212
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
There was the hiker who cut off his own arm when a rock fell on him. That's sorta positive.
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It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
06-11-2005, 04:34 PM
|  | Usagi Yojimbo | | Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: The Birthplace of American Democracy
Posts: 16,778
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Who is the target audience for this BS?
How does any of this possibly make any money?
-JP |
06-11-2005, 09:44 PM
| | thread-killa | | Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,504
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Quote: | mjfrombuffalo said
There was the hiker who cut off his own arm when a rock fell on him. That's sorta positive. | That was a Darwin candidate. I have cousins who are climbers... that guy did EVERYTHING you are NEVER supposed to do to end up in that situation. I was mad he got as much press as he did. But go see the story MJ posted in The Water Cooler. |
06-11-2005, 11:06 PM
| | In Spanish, I'm Marijuana | | Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Lawn-Guy-Land, NY
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Quote: | pippadaisy said
That was a Darwin candidate. I have cousins who are climbers... that guy did EVERYTHING you are NEVER supposed to do to end up in that situation. I was mad he got as much press as he did. But go see the story MJ posted in The Water Cooler. | however he ended up where he did, I still think cutting off one's own arm takes balls - more than writing a book about "I dated a murderer." Heck, if you can't be a shining example, at least be a good cautionary tale.
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MJ
It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
06-12-2005, 08:53 AM
| | thread-killa | | Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,504
| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
MJ, I think what bothered me about him was that every interview I saw and/or read, he never ONCE said "You know what, I'm lucky as hell. I did EVERYTHING I shouldn't have done and am lucky to be alive." He never ONCE said "You know what? Climbing alone was a DA thing to do. And being without a cell phone was a DA thing to do. And having no emergency supplies was a DA thing to do." I'd agree if I thought it would be a cautionary tale. |
06-12-2005, 01:55 PM
| | Epinions Members | | Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northeast Malibu
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
The thing about Jennifer Willbanks, Amber Frey and Jayson Blair selling their sordid stories is that none of them seem at all ashamed of what they did.
Being ashamed is an old fashioned notion I guess. Today it's flaunt your bad deeds and sell them to the highest bidder. |
06-13-2005, 12:12 PM
|  | Premium Member | | Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Lansing, MI, United States
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
I'd far rather give money to the playwright who wrote "The Story," an incredible, compelling play that deals with dishonesty in a newsroom. Yes, she would be profiting from another's lie, but it wasn't her lie and she managed to create art that challenges us into examining why such a thing is a problem and what are some of the underlying implications.
I do think people are doing wonderful things all the time--they're just not newsworthy. I see acts of integrity every day. I constantly see people who are performing acts of kindness, goodness, and generosity. I really do think these people far outnumber the flash-in-the-pan celebrities who earn infamy for doing things that the rest of us would consider unethical or at least undignified.
And honestly? I'll worry when everyday acts of integrity become newsworthy.
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"There are seven things that will destroy us: Wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; religion without sacrifice; politics without principle; science without humanity; business without ethics." --Mahatma Gandhi
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06-13-2005, 12:14 PM
|  | Epinions Members | | Join Date: May 2001 Location: South of Bawlmer
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| | Re Would you donate money to this? | |
Quote: | Redlass said
I do think people are doing wonderful things all the time--they're just not newsworthy. I see acts of integrity every day. I constantly see people who are performing acts of kindness, goodness, and generosity. I really do think these people far outnumber the flash-in-the-pan celebrities who earn infamy for doing things that the rest of us would consider unethical or at least undignified.
And honestly? I'll worry when everyday acts of integrity become newsworthy. | Looking for that on the nose icon.
Well said, Bridgette.
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