Hard News (39 page)

“It was my dream to do this”
“Rick Bragg Biography.” Available at
www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm?page=author&authorID77
.

“fill . . . their white trash quota.”
Ibid.

The Pulitzer board agreed
“The Pulitzer Board Presents the Pulitzer Prize Winners 1996.” Available at
www.pulitzer.org/cgi-bin/year.pl?1735,16
.

“I stopped reading him”
Ana Marie Cox. “Bragging Rights.” The Antic Muse. Online Posting. May 29, 2003, 12:05 p.m. Available at
www.theanticmuse.com/~anamarie/archives/000098.htm
.

In 1997, Bragg published
Rick Bragg.
All Over but the Shoutin’
. New York: Pantheon Books, 1997.

“Pakistan Is 2 Worlds”
Rick Bragg. “Pakistan Is 2 Worlds: One Urbane, One Enraged.”
The New York Times
. October 1, 2001. p. B1.

“Surrounded by caged birds”
Rick Bragg. “Seeking Miracles in a Place of Cruelty and Beauty.”
The New York Times
. October 28, 2001. p. A1.

“What’s wrong with putting”
Auletta, “The Howell Doctrine.”

“He’s looking for 30-year-olds”
Mnookin, “Hard Raines.”

“I know that inaccurate reports”
Rosemary Shields for Howell Raines. “A note from Howell Raines.” E-mail message. February 15, 2002. 3:01 p.m.

“What seemed to happen”
Behr to author.

Pushing Back, Moving On

“I didn’t know what to do”
Abramson to author.

“Far from being a shadow”
Tyler. “Re: New York Times Book Project.”

Abramson, on the other hand
Abramson to author.

“A lot of people did”
Siegal to author.

soon after her lunch
Abramson to author.

“I’m hearing Abe’s back!”
Auletta, “The Howell Doctrine.”

an “unsophisticated” analysis The Charlie Rose Show.
Interview with Howell Raines. PBS. Air date, July 11, 2003.

a 2003 national reporting Pulitzer
Available at
www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/national-reporting
.

“Howell won’t mind”
Author interviews.

The author’s bio in Raines’s 1977 novel
Howell Raines.
Whiskey Man.
New York: Viking, 1977. Back flap copy.

“boss from hell”
Stephen Engelberg. “Book Review Lies and the Sly Liar Who Tries to Justify Them.”
The Oregonian
. March 21, 2004. p. D6.

On November 1, 2001, after polishing off
William J. Broad, Stephen Engelberg, Judith Miller, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg. “Excruciating Lessons in the Ways of a Disease.”
The New York Times.
October 31, 2001. p. A1. Also William J. Broad, Stephen Engelberg, and James Glanz. “Assessing Risks, Chemical, Biological, Even Nuclear.”
The New York Times.
November 1, 2001. p. A1.

“This can’t work”
Engelberg to author.

“It was a potentially great job”
Frantz to author.

a story about the space-shuttle disaster
Matthew Rose and Laurie P. Cohen. “Men in the News: Amid Turmoil, Top Editors Resign at New York Times—for Raines, Reporters’ Lapses Helped Stoke Friction over Management Style—’An Endemic Cultural Issue.’ ”
The Wall Street Journal
. June 6, 2003. p. A1.

“Everybody started to get calls”
Landman to author.

The Daily Report

“One person quits”
Raines, “My Times.”

“These
[
all-known thoughts
]
were”
Behr to author.

“If the drought drags on”
Andrew C. Revkin. “Extended Drought Strains Resources Along East Coast.”
The New York Times
. April 21, 2002. p. A1.

“He decided we were undercovering”
Landman to author.

“Every editor and reporter”
Robert J. Samuelson. “A Liberal Bias?”
The Washington Post
. August 29, 2001. p. A21.

“Leading Republicans from Congress”
Todd S. Purdum and Patrick E. Tyler. “Top Republicans Break with Bush on Iraq Strategy.”
The New York Times
. August 16, 2002. p. A1.

“listening carefully to”
Elisabeth Bumiller. “President Notes Dissent on Iraq, Vowing to Listen.”
The New York Times
. August 1, 2002. p. A1.

“The imminence of proliferation”
Henry A. Kissinger. “Our Intervention in Iraq.”
The Washington Post
. August 12, 2002. p. A15.

“
Not since William”
Charles Krauthammer. “Kidnapped by the Times.”
The Washington Post
. August 18, 2002. p. B7.

“I had to tell them”
Carr to author.

“This is certainly a shift”
Seth Mnookin. “The Changing ‘Times.’ ”
Newsweek
. December 9, 2002.

“By this time”
Abramson to author.

“Ms. Spears”
Laura M. Holson and Alex Kuczynski. “Schoolyard Superstar Aims for a Second Act, as an Adult.”
The New York Times
. October 6, 2002. p. A1.

“There’s nothing wrong”
Landman to author.

Augusta

“CBS Staying Silent”
Alessandra Stanley and Bill Carter. “CBS Staying Silent in Debate on Women Joining Augusta.”
The New York Times
. November 25, 2002. p. A1.

“
[
The Augusta coverage
]
was just shocking”
Mnookin, “The Changing ‘Times.’ ”

“Raines is on the verge”
Mickey Kaus. “Kerry Mystery Contest; Plus: Raines Remains Silent, Day 6!” Online Posting. Kausfiles.
www.slate.com
. November 26, 2002.

“At some point”
Jack Shafer. “The
New York Times’
Augusta Blog: Stop Me If You’ve Read This Story Before.” Available at
www.slate.com/id/2074599
. November 25, 2002.

“We’re
The New York Times
”
Sulzberger to author.

“I remember being surprised”
Okrent to author.

“The Masters story”
Kramon to author.

Paul Colford, reported
Paul D. Colford. “Times Editors Kill 2 Columns in Augusta Rift.” New York
Daily News
. December 4, 2002. p. 50.

“Howell and I believe”
Gerald Boyd. “NYT M.E. Gerald Boyd’s memo re Augusta.” Online Posting. Poynter Online—Forums, “Memos Sent to Romenesko.” December 4, 2002. 4:45:56 p.m. Available at
www.poynteronline.org/forum/default.asp?id=32127
.

“If Boyd’s memo”
Mickey Kaus. “The
NYT
Buckles.” Online Posting. Kausfiles.
www.slate.com
. December 5, 2002.

“Gerald’s memo was totally”
Haberman to author.

“I guess it was because”
Alan Shipnuck.
The Battle for Augusta National: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. p. 141.

“There was a very strong”
Ibid., p. 143.

“I think Gerald”
Ibid., p. 145.

“prompted critical commentary”
Felicity Barringer. “2 Rejected Sports Columns to Be Printed by The Times.”
The New York Times
. December 7, 2002. p. A17.

“I was appalled”
Author interview.

“If there’s ever a revolt”
Ibid.

Raines wed his longtime girlfriend
Sridhar Pappu and Anna Jane Grossman. “My Big Fat Times Wedding.”
The New York Observer
. March 17, 2003. p. 1.

Part Two

SPRING 2003

The First Signs of Scandal

On Saturday, April 26
Rivard to author.

The headline read
Jayson Blair. “Family Waits, Now Alone, for a Missing Soldier.”
The New York Times
. April 26, 2003. p. A1.

stories about a suspect
John MacCormack. “Missing & Presumed Dead.”
San Antonio Express-News
. December 28, 1999. p. A1.

The
Express-News
story
Macarena Hernandez. “Valley Mom Awaits News of MIA Son.”
San Antonio Express-News
. April 18, 2003. p. A1.

“Jayson was always”
Hernandez to author.

“Instead of going to the Times”
Macarena Hernandez. “What Jayson Blair Stole from Me, and Why I Couldn’t Ignore It.”
The Washington Post
. June 1, 2003. p. B5.

“Juanita Anguiano points”
Blair, “Family Waits, Now Alone, for a Missing Soldier.”

the Anguianos’ Martha Stewart
Macarena Hernandez. “National Betrayal.”
San Antonio Express-News
. June 1, 2003. p. H1.

“Since someone at the
Times
”
Rivard to author.

“By the time I got there”
Roberts to author.

“At that time, he hadn’t decided”
Kurtz to author.

Jayson Blair

“just another black man”
Jayson Blair.
Burning Down My Masters’ House
. Beverly Hills, Calif.: New Millennium, 2004. p. 95.

“They are the finest people”
Latt to Holly Bailey for
Newsweek
. Seth Mnookin et al. “Times Bomb.”
Newsweek
. May 26, 2003.

“He just bounced in one day”
Cahill to Patrice Wingert for
Newsweek
. Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

The yearbook index lists
Centreville High School yearbook.

Blair seems to have faked
Chris Mergerson. “God Attracts 62 Students and 4 Teachers.”
Centreville Sentinel
. September 22, 1993. p. 2.

“Jayson attached
[
my name
]
”
Mergerson to author.

Blair enrolled at Liberty University
David Folkenflik. “The Making of Jayson Blair.”
Baltimore Sun
. February 29, 2004. p. F10.

“He was easy to pick out”
Callahan to Martha Brant for
Newsweek
. Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

“When Jayson was initially hired”
Newman to Rebecca Sinderbrand for
Newsweek
. Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

“All of us were ambitious”
Author interview.

“He tried to undermine our efforts”
McMenamin to Brian Braiker for
Newsweek
. Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

Another intern says Blair frequently tried
Author interview.

“I’ve seen some who like to abuse”
Dan Barry, David Barstow, Jonathan D. Glater, Adam Liptak, and Jacques Steinberg. “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”
The New York Times.
May 11, 2003. p. A1.

Joyce Purnick, then the metro editor
Blair,
Burning Down My Masters’ House,
p. 106.

According to Arthur Sulzberger
Adrienne P. Samuels. “Black Journalists Discuss ‘Blair Affair.’ ”
St
.
Petersburg Times
. August 10, 2003.

“I told him that he needed to find”
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

“He always struck me as”
Author interview.

Gerald Boyd headed the committee
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

“It was clear that Gerald”
“The Siegal Committee Report; Report and Recommendations of the Working Group on Training and Performance Management; Recommendations and Thoughts of the Communications Subcommittee.” July 28, 2003. p. 39. Available at
www.nytco.com/committeereport.pdf
.

“To say now that his promotion”
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

the
Times
ran the following correction
Jayson Blair. “A Rousing Rock Show for a Wounded City.”
The New York Times
. October 21, 2001. p. B10. Correction appended October 23, 2001.

negative review
“Siegal Committee Report,” p. 38.

“There’s big trouble”
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

“You have enormous promise and potential”
Author interviews.

not “inclusive”
Auletta, “The Howell Doctrine.”

Blair took two personal leaves
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

two of Blair’s supervisors
“Siegal Committee Report,” p. 39.

“In a weird way”
Blair to author.

“It was real filth”
Landlord to Suzanne Smalley for
Newsweek
. Mnookin et al., “Times Bomb.”

“He was just spinning out”
Author interview.

Sniper Time

“This guy’s hungry”
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

Jayson Blair broke out of the pack
Jayson Blair. “Retracing a Trail: The Investigation; U.S. Sniper Case Seen as a Barrier to a Confession.”
The New York Times
. October 30, 2002. p. A1.

“We had sources waving us away”
Abramson to author.

“When I read that first story”
Barstow to author.

Within days,
The Washington Post See, for example, Susan Schmidt and Katherine Shaver. “Muhammad Interrogation in Dispute; U.S. Attorneys Cut Off Talks, Local Prosecutor Alleges.”
The Washington Post
. October 31, 2002. p. A1.

“The
Post
got beat”
Erik Wemple. “Sniping Coverage.”
Washington City Paper
. November 8, 2002.

“Jayson,” Raines wrote
Linda Conte for Howell Raines. “From Howell re: Wednesday’s great scoop.” E-mail message. November 1, 2002. 11:05:52 a.m.

“I interpreted it as, ‘Fuck you,’ “
Abramson to author.

“I can’t imagine accepting”
Barry et al., “Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.”

Boyd walked by the
Times
’s metro desk
Author interviews.

In a December 22 front-page story
Jayson Blair. “Teenager’s Role Tangles Case Against Older Sniper Suspect.”
The New York Times
. December 22, 2002. p. A1.