Fakers and Frauds

After all of the readings for lecture last week, I really started thinking about just how many people plagiarize and make information up for their stories.  Of course, this same topic was also brought up in my media ethics class this week too..i love when topics from different classes coincide with each other :)

It really amazes me that people like Glass and Blair can just make things up, out of thin air, and not really have a problem with it.  In the videos we watched in class, Glass seemed to feel more remorse  for his actions then Blair did.  In my opinion, Blair didn't feel all that bad at all in his interviews.

The part that boggles my mind the most is how long both these men got away with their actions.  I find it amazing that their editors didn't catch them for months.  I feel like the editor's responsibility is to bust people like this.  I also think it is weird that more people didn't call in with doubt about the stories or to report misleading facts and information that were included in the pieces.

It almost makes you want to get mad at the editors.  You want to accuse them for slacking at their job and not following through with their responsibilities.  Then I sit back and think about it and I guess part of the problem is they WANT the stories to be real.  The audience is loving the stories by these authors and they are well written; it is like an editor's dream come true.  An editor never wants to assume the worse, which is that the stories are not actually real.

Honestly, cases like  this make me nervous that if I were to pursue a career in editing, I would not catch major mistakes and plagiarism like this.  There is a risk that the newspaper or magazine's credibility could decrease.  People's faith in me, as an editor, could also decrease as well, along with their respect for me.  This is just something that has been on my mind all week.

Sorry this one is kinda short...I have a big test tomorrow that I am cramming for.  I promise to write a longer blog next week..or maybe even another one this week if I find some time.

- Sar