Books: The Paper Chase
Hugh Pearson
Author and Journalist
Monday, March 15, 2004; 11:00 a.m. ET
Hugh Pearson discussed his book review (entitled "The Paper Chase") of Jayson Blair's new book.
Pearson will be online Monday, March 15 at 11 a.m. ET, to discuss race in the media, issues of ethics in media, and his review of disgraced ex-New York Times writer Jayson Blair's book, "Burning Down My Master's House."
Submit your questions and comments any time before or during the discussion.
Hugh Pearson is a 1979 graduate of Brown University, and former associate editor for Pacific News Service. His first book, "The Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America" was published to wide critical acclaim in June 1994. At the end of that year, Pearson became an editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal. Then, in the fall of 1996 he became a columnist for The Village Voice, a position he left very shortly due to internal politics. After that Pearson went on to write two more widely acclaimed books "Under the Knife: How a Wealthy Negro Surgeon Wielded Power in the Jim Crow South", and "When Harlem Nearly Killed King."
Along the way he has appeared on radio and television numerous times, including on the Fox News Channel program "Hannity and Colmes"; MSNBC as a guest analyst during the 2000 presidential election; ABC-TV's "Nightline" for a segment on former Black Panther Jamil Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown); and most recently, this past January 19th on Black Entertainment Television (BET) News for a segment on his most recent book, "When Harlem Nearly Killed King."
Pearson now produces a website called, "Afro-American and Hispanic Dialogues along with Louis Varela Nevaer, (a Cornell graduate) and author of ten book of his own.
A transcript follows.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Silver Spring, Md.:
Your bio mentioned that you were with the Pacific News Service, the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice. In all your time as a journalist have you ever seen anything like Blair mentioned in his book (journalists partying at bars all the time, buying weed and crack, fabricating stories)?
Hugh Pearson: No, not at all. I cannot recall working with ANY colleagues who engaged in the wrong doing identified by Blair at the NY Times. That doesn't mean they weren't there, though. Keep in mind that the Wall Street Journal is a very large newspaper. I only knew my colleagues at the editorial page. And while writing my column for The Village Voice (where the likelihood that there are persons "ethically challenged," given my encounters with a lot of staffers in the newsroom when I did go there, and where smoking weed wouldn't be considered strange at all, given the politics of that place), I wouldn't be surprised at all if such journalists are on staff.
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Detroit, Mich.:
The title "Burning Down My Master's House" seems to infer some relation to slavery. Why does he say he feels this way in the book? In my opinion at a relatively young age the Times gave him a much sought after position, where he would be able to travel and write meaningful stories. Does he deserve sympathy?
Hugh Pearson: I think Blair deserves sympathy only in the sense that I'm convinced that all African American journalists deserve it. Which is to say that we all operate in environments where our intelligence is suspect (for instance, in 1989, when I first appeared at The San Francisco Weekly, the editor-in-chief took one look at my freelance clips from New York Newsday, and asked, "How much of this is you, and how much of it is the editor?"). If we make one false move, then there's always someone in a position of authority ready to say, "See, I told you he or she was probably stupid..." And I continue to be amazed at the extent of the callous indifference of most Caucasians I meet, to the manner in which insidious racism pervades this culture. Almost no one wants to put themselves in the shoes of the designated other. Beyond that, though, I felt no sympathy for Blair. I found it hard to believe that someone so young could spiral downward so quickly. Equally abhorent was his sense of entitlement. The sense that he deserved to be on page one from the moment he got there. I find that the younger generation (I'm 46) is filled with such people. I encountered them at The Village Voice, acting as though I had gotten there with absolutely no track record of achievement, and that they, instead, should have had a weekly column. As I say in my review, I think this is the result of the notion young people feel today that success should be instant, and you shouldn't have to work very long for it at all.
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Washington, D.C.:
People like Mr. Blair think that their fabrications (or, more accurately, lies) are harmless, so the fuss is disproportionate to the error. D.C.'s experience in response to a similar incident with a reporter named Janet Cooke shows that this view is wrong. A little over twenty years ago, Ms. Cook wrote a report featuring a horribly neglected boy named "Jimmy" whose mother was a drug addict. In response to her sad and moving story and enormous pressure from the public and the Post's editorial page, many D.C. police officers spent many hours looking for Jimmy and a boy who appeared to be Jimmy was taken away from his mother. The it turned out that Jimmy didn't exist. He was, or so Ms. Cooke claimed, a composite figure based on many kids. So, police attention was wasted searching for a fictional character and a child was removed from his home based on this fiction. It is not enough to say that the police were not forced to undertake such an exhaustive search, or that the child who was removed (and later returned) must have had some problems; the pont is that important, life-altering and probably bad things happened as a consequence of Ms. Cook's lies?
Hugh Pearson: Point well taken.
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Cleveland, Oh.:
Has all the attention that the media has given Blair help his cause (redemption) at all? He is still a young man, Does he deserve another chance in media sometime long in the future?
Hugh Pearson: I just read a feature piece this morning in Newsday, where he says he's about to head to his parents house in Virginia to write a novel about the descendants of Virginia slave owners and their slaves. So, though I'm convinced that he probably came clean in the book (for the most part) and was telling the truth about ethical breaches at The Times, I think Blair has a future as a novelist. I wouldn't trust him, though as a reporter again. Because in the Newsday article he didn't sound as though he's learned everything he should have learned from his experience at The Times.
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Arlington, Va.:
Mr. Pearson,
I am really disappointed in the Blair ordeal. Do you think some journalists feel that what he's done stigmatizes negative stereotypes of minority journalists? I heard when he started with the Times he was received on a minority scholarship. For any journalist, ethics is a mandatory course, and similarly on most scholarships there is an ethics aspect.
Hugh Pearson: Without question what he did embelishes negative stereotypes about so-called minority journalists. And that isn't right. Because look at Stephen Glass (The New Republic), and Mike Barnicle (formerly of the Boston Globe), who is now at The NY Daily News. Barnicle got a new column. And I don't recall anyone questioning the qualifications of all Irish American journalists as a result of his fabrications at The Globe. It just goes to show how sad our racial predicament continues to be.
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Bethesda, Md.:
Mr. Pearson - polls show that Americans are more and more disappointed with the media and journalism in general. But isn't focussing on the tabloid cases - the Jayson Blairs (plural as there have also lately been a rash of lesser-publicized ones) - distracting us from the larger, more systemic problems plaguing modern news-dissemination? I mean the concentration of ownership into a small club of like-minded corporate megaliths, the cowardice of the mainstream media to question or (God forbid) embarrass those in power (e.g. the Iraqi Threat Hoax being relabelled as principally "intelligence failures") and the general unwillingness to do difficult, investigative journalism anymore. Aren't these far more substantive issues, even if they don't make for as salacious headlines for the currently dumbed-down public?
Hugh Pearson: I agree with you 1,000%. I am amazed at the extent to which not enough of us question the concentration of media in the hands of the few. And we call this a free enterprise system? Give me a break!!! That's the biggest joke of all in our current society. We need FAR MORE variety of sources of the news, especially from so-called "minorities." We need a major sea change in the attitude of "minorities" that they must do everything significant through major established media sources. Minds that waste their time in pursuit of business cards reading NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc., need to take a page out of the world wide experience of Jews, and launch their own enterprises (especially we so-called "minority" men). Because power concedes nothing without a struggle.
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Washington, D.C.:
What is the state of racial integration in the news room, not so much about reporters' race, but in terms of sensitivity: is there empathy for the different challenges communities face? For example, are Caucasian journalists sensitive to the impact of the subtle forms of racism that blacks encounter? Are blacks cognizant of the challenges Hispanics face as they emerge as a major force on the nation's radar screen? Are Hispanics informed about how many Caucasians see them as a "threat" to the social dynamics?
Hugh Pearson: Are you kidding me? As far as I'm concerned, Caucasian jounalists (like Caucasians as a whole) are LESS SENSITIVE to what "minorities" experience. In my own neighborhood I marvel at the decrease in sensitivity, everyday (Caucasians are flooding into Clinton Hill/Fort Greene, Brooklyn). For example, there s this new term in journalism I absolutely hate -- "playing the race card." It's Exhibit A of their lack of sensitivity. The implication of the term is that African Americans, for instance, know that racism is now almost non-existent. So we wake up each day with a deck of cards, and decide whether or not we're going to play the one labeled "race." I am convinced that if the typical Caucasian (especially male) spent one month in the shoes of an African American, at the end of that time period he will have gathered guns and started murdering everything he saw in the streets. African Americans have had the patience of Job, and continue to be told, in so many words, to have such patience (channel your anger into the church, for instance), or else... I, for one, no longer have it.
As for whether or not we have adequate sensitivity to Hispanic concerns, I don't think we do. But I think it's far easier to relate to them, than all other "minorities," since so many Hispanics are, essentially, the same as us, racially speaking (African, European, and Native American). And I feel that the wall between African Americans and Hispanics is essentially a false one, encouraged to keep us fighting each other.
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Washington, D.C.:
Hi Mr. Pearson,
In light of your candid review and the POST's Howie Kurtz's near-obsessive "commentary" on Jason Blair the person,I am dumbstruck that so little attention and outrage was leveled w/ on-going (follow-up re: Talk Show Mavin/Web Columnist) Propagandist/Info-Entertainer plagiarizer Rush Limbaugh, who reaches millions of people every day! WHY? Please don't tell us "Rush is not a professional journalist." He works the trade, so to speak, and manipulates, exploits media in order to serve his personal agenda, eh?
Thank you.
Hugh Pearson: I agree, and would further answer you, but for the existence of so many questions coming in
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Tampa, Fla:
How, if at all, do you think the race, ethnicity, or nationality, of a journalist today affects his or her experience writing for a major metropolitan newspaper? How, if at all, does having a racially or ethnically diverse news staff affect the topics covered and overall quality of news coverage?
Hugh Pearson: I'd love to further answer your question, and hope some of what I already wrote, does so. I'm moving on to questions addressing concerns that haven't been addressed so far, either directly or by implication. Thanks.
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Washington, D.C.:
Do you believe that Blair should profit from his actions at the Times? Should people buy his book?
Hugh Pearson: I'm of a mixed mind on this. I think the book is interesting for the inside dope it gives the reader. I'm convinced that the NY Times is trashing Blair due to not wanting this stuff to get out, and their arrogant certitude that, due to the fact that Blair is African American and lied in the stories he wrote, they can convince most people not to believe anything he says in his book (as their reviewer in the Times Book Review, from Slate, made clear was his assigned task this past Sunday, with a review that hardly touched the actual book, and instead, rationalized the oversight of Blair's behavior at The Times, while trashing Blair, personally; talk about chucking your own book review standards when it suits you...). I hope this answers your question.
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Arlington, Va.:
So he's going to write a novel... Do you think there's the slightest bit of chance that this was a well-planned scandal, and that now Mr. Blair plans on making a living off his fame in more respectable venues, kind of the way Al Sharpton has?
Hugh Pearson: Interesting question. And good person to compare him to. Both are very smart hustlers. It could have very well been planned all along. We'll see.
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New York, N.Y.:
What do you think of Blair being given so much television coverage/interviews by the national media? Is it really appropriate for Katie Couric to spend an hour on him?
Hugh Pearson: I was also surprised that she spent an entire hour with him, though I thought her interview was unfairly weighted towards writing him off. As far as the overall coverage of his book goes, I think it's appropraite because he raises very troubling question about the media. And let me add. I'm amazed by the manner in which so many people are concerned about Bair profiting from his misdeeds, while people like President Bush (who lied about weapons of mass destruction), Michael Eisner at Disney, who made $200 million one year, that he didn't deserve, and an entire roll call of Caucasian men, made and continue to make money they don't deserve. Where's America's outrage about all of that?
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Washington, D.C.:
Please address the issue of Homophobia in the newsroom. What have you seen/heard? Do gay people get a "pass"?
Hugh Pearson: Having lived in San Fran and written for two left wing media sourced, and written for the Voice, I didn't encounter ANY homophobia. In fact, my experience in both realms was the opposite: the sense that everyone should cheer homosexuality. The only place where it wasn't cheered (The Wall Street Journal editorial page) was no bastion of gay-bashing. We simply didn't talk about it. So I'm the wrong person to ask that question.
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Arlington, Va.:
"It's Exhibit A of their lack of sensitivity" -- please don't paint all Caucasians/ caucasian journalists with the same brush. Jayson Blair didn't lose his job because of his race; he lost it because he was not following journalistic ethics. For him to give his book a racially-charged title is to imply otherwise, and is detrimental to the important cause of getting people of all backgrounds into journalism.
Hugh Pearson: I'm not trying to paint all Caucasians with the same brush. I'm trying to be honest about the dishonesty and insincerity I see all around me, and the tendency of most Caucasians to paint all African Americans with the same brush (only a few, that I encounter are sincerely open-minded). I'm not saying at all that Blair lost his job due to race (can you read?). I'm saying that he does address appropriate issues in his book. The wrong messenger can, indeed, also deliver a good message.
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New York, N.Y.:
Mr. Pearson, with all due respect, I have to disagree when you generalize and say young people nowadays expect rewards immediately.
I am a 25-year-old Indian journalist bouncing from one internship to another, and I work hard. Unlike Blair, I give 200% to be accurate in my reporting. I also know that I have to pay my dues as a young reporter before I can move upwards. and I have all the respect in the world for experienced journalists like yourself who have worked hard and deserve to be where they are today.
Please do not think all of us are Jayson Blair on the people you encountered at the Voice.
Hugh Pearson: So you're an exception. Good
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Chicago, Ill.:
What is the future of blacks in the media? Does the Blair and Cook episodes make it more difficult for EVERY black person who's a journalist? Do you think that this sort of thing adds yet another hurdle to overcome? And why should Blair benefit financially from telling his story -- it seems there's something morally wrong, much the same way that it was terrible when criminals profited by writing books about their crimes. In other words, has the Times been doubly victimized by Blair with the publication of this book?
Hugh Pearson: I'm tne wrong person to even raise the issue of sympathy for The New York Times, of all places, if we should be looking for the right place to train our sympathy on.
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Arlington, Va.:
What can be done about the rampant racisim by Caucasions towards minorities in news rooms throughout the country? Do new laws need to be passed?
Hugh Pearson: More "minorities" striking out on their own, and fewer needing the drug of prestige by associating themselves with prestige media outlets.
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Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Pearson,
This is a very interesting chat and am glad to have the opportunity to read along. However, I am somewhat surprised at blanket statements about what white people supposedly feel or do not feel. No person of any race, gender (I could make the same argument about women), nationality, or even family or circumstances will ever completely understand what it is like to be someone else. However, it does not give that person a right to use their life choices/histories as a way of moving up the ladder. I am saddened to see how many people assume they know what anyone - african american, caucasian, hispanic, asian, male, female, young, or old, know or feels or has experienced.
Thank you.
Hugh Pearson: I make blanket statements based on 46 years of experience. What amazes me is the quickness with which Caucasians tell an African American who has any confidence in his convictions, that he or she doesn't know what he's talking about. Train your anger on the David Brooks of this world the George Stephan (at ABC).... etc., who tell all of us what to think everyday, as though God gave them a license to shape world outlook.
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Washington, D.C.:
Will you provide a contact mailing address
and/or e-mail address?
Cheers, washingtonpost.com:
This is a link to Mr. Pearson's web site is anyone is interested in this issue: http://www.afro-american-and-hispanic-dialogues.org/pages/1/index.htm
Hugh Pearson: Hugh Pearson
478 Washington Ave.
Apt. 4A
Brooklyn, NY 11238
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Washington, D.C.:
Who should be blamed at the NY Times for this? The most amazing thing about this is that people did not call in to have the stories corrected because they were use to the media getting things wrong. Blair is a bad person, but isn't there enough blame to go around? Would you be upset if Pres. Bush or a prominent CEO promoted an african american to a high position, despite the fact he was making lots of mistakes. Would you say that these people had good intentions and got burned or were they wrong in there actions?
Hugh Pearson: Try the babyboom generation, A.O. Shulzberger, and his pal, my fellow Brown alum, Steve Rattner (his personal friend), who considers himself master of the universe. Try going to them directly, and asking them your questions. I'm thinking about doing that, myself.
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Roseland, N.J.:
You mention Mike Barnacle. Wasn't Barnacle's infraction, basically retelling a joke without attributing it to George Carlin, a completely different animal than Blair and Glass? Is it fair to lump them together?
Hugh Pearson: No, it was worse than that. I remember it was worse. But if you want details, why not ask Barnical himself...
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Washington, D.C.:
I don't know how to say this the right way... but here goes.
I'm a white editor in DC who manages minorities. I fired an African American woman because she did a horrible job. Not because of her color, but because she performed terribly. She pulled the race card with me and threatened to sue. Now she is gone, I have not heard from a lawyer, and I still contend that she performed horribly. It wasn't a color thing, it was a performance issue.
I do not discount that there is racism in the work place. As a woman, I've dealt with a fair amount of sexism in the media myself. But will there ever be a time when we all just give each other a fair shot and put the color and sex thing aside? I have a history of promoting minority journalists. One person pulls the race card, my prior history is wiped out, and now I'm carrying around the equivalent of a Scarlet A.
Hugh Pearson: So if she deserved to be fired, she should have been. I'm not saying there aren't African American bad apples. I'm saying that all African Americans aren't bad apples, just as all Caucasians aren't. When a bad apple surfaces, then call her or him that, and leave race out of it.
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Hugh Pearson: Ryan, at this point I'm checking out. Thanks for the opportunity.
Hugh
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