When the Jayson Blair scandal broke in 2003, everybody was saying, "How could he do that?" How could a bright young man, with everything going for him - how could he have falsified or plagiarized dozens of news stories at the revered New York Times and gotten away with it for over a year?
It was an earthquake in the journalism world. 27-year-old Jayson Blair, who had been one of only two African-American editors in the history of the University of Maryland's Diamondback newspaper, and had been hired as a full reporter at the New York Times at an impressively young age, resigned only 6 days after first being accused of copying a story from another newspaper. By the time the tremors stopped, two top editors of the Times had been forced to resign. How could he do that?
In a 2003 interview with WCBS in New York, later shown on CBS's 60 Minutes, Blair spoke of making up quotes to substantiate material that was true but rather thin ... then finding himself needing to make up sources for the quotes ... in other words, the lies begat more lies. How could he do that?
When we know Jayson Blair has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, his behavior begins to make more sense. Mania doesn't make a person unable to tell right from wrong, to be sure, but still it is easier to understand his behavior as part of a larger bipolar profile:
- Pressured speech: College classmates and professors remember him as extremely talkative, exuberant and enthusiastic;
- Grandiosity: There are recorded incidents during his internships where he criticized superiors inappropriately, and he often snubbed his peers, preferring the company of professors;
- Inflated self-esteem: Throughout college and internship Jayson had been given top assignments and preferential treatment in spite of sometimes poor performance. These experiences must have only added to his manic sense of I can do anything; I can get away with anything;
- Thriving on danger: Plagiarizing and making up elements of his news stories might have given him an exciting sense of living dangerously or recklessly; Andy Behrman described this manic element eloquently in Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania;
- Self-medicating: His substance abuse was undoubtedly acting as self-medication for then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder;
- Poor judgment: And not just at the Times; classmates from the University of Maryland School of Journalism have come forward telling of serious problems during Jayson's college years as well;
- Provocative or obnoxious behavior: During his internships, he was described as a flagrant gossip and the Boston Globe, where he interned, evaluated his behavior overall as unacceptable.
Today Jayson Blair's name is cursed in the world of journalism. He is publishing a book, Burning Down My Master's House: My Life at the New York Times. When rumors circulated that Blair wanted to use some of his earnings from the book to fund a scholarship at the University of Maryland School of Journalism, officials there raced to deny all such stories. According to the publisher, Blair is instead looking to donate a portion of his earnings to an organization in the mental health field. While journalism turns its back on Blair and his attempts to make amends, the mental health world should not scorn but rather embrace him. Jayson Blair has a mental illness. What he did wrong was done when he was undiagnosed and untreated.
Bipolar disorder has a lot to do with how he could do that. And had anyone paid enough attention to the danger signals of his earlier behavior, he might have been diagnosed and and treated in time to prevent the scandal from occurring.
Resources
The Baltimore Sun - 2/29/04 - "The making of Jayson Blair," by David Folkenflik
The disgraced journalist's closest peers were troubled by his work and behavior while he was still a student, but no one heeded their warnings.
The Diamondback - 2/25/04 - "Blair won't donate money to Journalism," by Adam Lewis
Former student wants to fund mental health research
Jayson Blair Sells Tell-All Book - CNN.com - 9/10/03
Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who was dismissed [in 2003] for plagiarism and fabrication, has sold his story to a Los Angeles-based publishing house.
NBC's Couric Defends Interview with Blair - 3/4/04 - by David Bauder
Even though she finds his actions "repugnant," NBC's Katie Couric defended giving prime-time exposure to former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, the serial fabricator who brought down the paper's top editors.
