Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Dean Thomas Kunkel Statement on New York Times Plagiarism Case

For Immediate Release May 12, 2003

To our Journalism students, alumni and friends:

Over the weekend the New York Times published its findings into Jayson Blair’s reporting record. A more devastating indictment can scarcely be imagined.

Like you, I have watched this story unfold with spiraling sadness, dread and, truth be told, anger. What I originally hoped would be an isolated lapse instead turned out to be calculated fraud and deceit on a massive, perhaps unprecedented, scale. While Jayson’s actions diminish everyone in journalism, we feel it more acutely here at Maryland because of our personal connection to him.

Because of that connection, please indulge me a few more thoughts about this situation.

Let me start by saying that I don’t know what causes anyone to engage in such shattering and self-destructive behavior. We will just have to wait for Jayson to explain himself. I hope he steps up and offers that explanation, and does so today. He owes that much to his readers, to the Times, to the subjects of his discredited stories, and to every scrupulous journalist who has gone before him and who will follow.

Even so, no explanation can possibly excuse what is, at the end of the day, a breathtaking and pathological failure of personal integrity. Could the Times have been more vigilant? Of course. The paper’s own multi-page confessional details a veritable parade of red flags that were raised over Jayson’s performance there. But whatever its supervisory shortcomings in this instance, the Times can never be accused of ambiguity as to its expectations of journalistic integrity. Truth has been its bedrock; trust has been its currency. Jayson knew the rules.

He knew the rules when he was here, too. Does that mean we did everything we could with Jayson when we had him? Of course not. That is probably true of every student here. But again, it must be said that no program in the country stresses professional ethics more than we do or takes a harder line on integrity. Our students know this well, but for others, here are just some of the ways we incorporate ethics throughout the curriculum. We deal with it extensively in J100, the orientation course. There are specific ethics modules in every section of J201 (beginning reporting), J202 (beginning editing) and J320 (advanced reporting). We now require of all our students a separate three-credit course, J300, on journalism ethics. And our standardized grading methods reflect industry standards. As you alumni will remember—perhaps with a shudder—any fact error (up to and including the misspelling of a proper name) triggers an automatic F for the assignment. And any confirmed case of plagiarism or fabrication triggers an automatic F for the course AND a recommendation by the dean to the Honor Council of expulsion for that student. The point is, we treat journalism integrity incredibly seriously, and we always have.

And we always will. If this situation tells us anything, it is about the need to remain vigilant.

I have to admit being floored by this entire sorry episode. The Jayson in the Times’ mea culpa simply does not jibe with the Jayson of my experience, which is to say the same bright, ambitious, instinctive and cheeky young man who first dazzled the Times six years ago. By this I don’t mean to suggest that he was perfect, or anything like it. Certainly we knew Jayson could be a polarizing figure, someone with a strain of immaturity that could be his worst enemy. And since this story first broke two weeks ago, we’ve also heard reports from a number of Jayson’s former Maryland colleagues about instances of slipshod or possibly unethical behavior on his part during his tenure at the Diamondback, the university’s independent newspaper. But even these suggestions have been typically vague as to specifics.

For now, all I can tell you is that while Jayson was under direct College supervision, our faculty members were not seeing anything to give us pause. Quite the contrary. In 1995 while a reporter in our Capital News Service in Annapolis, Jayson wrote about 30 stories. His editor-instructor recalls that while he was a sometimes contentious figure in the newsroom—with his hypercompetitive streak he could throw a lot of elbows—she recalls no major problems with stories or even serious inaccuracies. Other of Jayson’s professors have told me they remember no troublesome issues and considered him a smart, eager student. Some of his student contemporaries have told me he was an inspiration to them. As the Times itself acknowledged, everything about Jayson announced that all he wanted to be was a journalist, and a great one. And as he had the tools to be just that, we helped push him into the best opportunities, the way we do with all high-potential students.

So were we fooled too? I don’t know. Certainly in light of the Times’ revelations we must revisit those CNS stories for potential anomalies. We are hiring an editor to talk to the news sources involved and double-check the articles’ factuality. Obviously we need to protect the integrity of CNS, our own news service, whose stories reach readers all around Maryland and greater Washington. But it’s also important for us to determine, as best we can, whether this pattern of deceit reaches all the way back to College Park. We promise to keep you posted as to what, if anything, we find.

If I may, I would like to address two aspects of the Times’ story that touch on Maryland. The first regards the paper’s assertion that “everyone assumed he had graduated” when Jayson was offered a full-time job. Jayson was not close to graduating when he received his Times internship, and, like all employers we deal with, the paper would have been aware of his academic standing. I can’t say what the paper’s editors assumed, much less what Jayson told them, when they invited him aboard full-time. Needless to say, neither the Times nor Jayson consulted the school over the offer. It’s not surprising that he took it; I would have too. But had we been asked, we would have recommended—to both Jayson and the Times—that he obtain his degree first.

The second pertains to my “gentle suggestion” that Jayson return to get his degree. I did indeed make this observation, but in an interview eight days ago, when the scope and particulars of Jayson’s deceptions were not yet known. Thus my remark, published in this context, inadvertently gave many readers the impression that I felt that way even knowing the whole story. I do not. Though I am not without empathy for him, Jayson would not be welcome back in this journalism program. But I DO feel that Jayson’s next step should be to complete his education, because he will need it as he tries to figure out where to go from here.

As I write this, Maryland is getting ready to graduate yet another cohort of outstanding seniors and master’s students. To you, students, I want to emphasize that you are joining a long line of highly accomplished professionals. No editor or news director will hold you accountable for this debacle, nor will they question the value of a Maryland degree that they know from experience represents journalistic rigor and integrity. As for me, I’m reassured knowing that our program’s proud reputation is secure in your hands.

As a journalist, as an educator, as a friend of Jayson’s, my heart is breaking over this. I fully understand the intense anger out there over what he has done, and I share it. This was a profound betrayal of the trust most journalists work so hard to preserve. Yet I also remind myself that this story is about not only a scandal but a human being. I sincerely hope Jayson can find a way to face up to what he has done, learn from it, and begin reassembling the pieces of his life.

Thomas Kunkel
Dean
Philip Merrill College of Journalism