When Janet Cooke did the exact thing at the Washington Post some
years ago, it was because she was under extreme pressure to produce.
There was a guy on "60 minutes" last Sunday who spoke about the same
pressure.  He knew what would make an exciting story, so he just wrote
his stories in such a way that people would love him and his writing.
	It is true that journalists should not bend to these
pressures.  We cannot accept or excuse these actions.  However, I think we
also need to examine the pressures.  Were they greater for Blair?.
He could be a talented journalist who somehow lost the way.  Sometimes
having somone to talk to would have eliminated some of the pressure
and stress.
	I think this is our problem.

On Wed, 14 May 2003, amohamed wrote:

> Dear MAC Members,
>
> Some in AEJMC are literally salivating at the possibility of tearing
> Jayson Blair of the New York Times apart at Kansas City.
> The way some folks are talking about it, you would think that plagiarism
> has never been an issue  in American journalism before.
> What Jayson did is indefensible, but he is neither the first to engage
> in plagiarism and unethical conduct nor will he be the last.
> MAC will and should resist the temptation by some to demonize Jayson Blair
> beyond what is warranted.
> For example, here is a note by somebody calling for a special session devoted
> to the Jayson Blair affair at the Kansas City program:
>
> “If we don't make this historic Jayson Blair NY Times scandal--with all its
> implications for our industry, for our students and for us--a central part
> of our session in Kansas City, than we are an irrelevant organization that
> has no business saying it's involved with "journalism education”
>
> I think this is uncalled for. But I would like to hear what others in MAC
> think of this before I commit our Division to a position.
> Ali.
>
>
>