New York Times Embarrassed by Phony Katrina Victim
The ghost of Jayson Blair must still be haunting the Old Grey Lady
This is a week old, but too good to ignore, and it didn’t get wide notice. The link requires free registration at The Times (HT Larry Kudlow):
Editors’ Note: March 23, 2006, Thursday An article in The Metro Section on March 8 profiled Donna Fenton, identifying her as a 37-year-old victim of Hurricane Katrina who had fled Biloxi, Miss., and who was frustrated in efforts to get federal aid as she and her children remained as emergency residents of a hotel in Queens.
Yesterday, the New York police arrested Ms. Fenton, charging her with several counts of welfare fraud and grand larceny. Prosecutors in Brooklyn say she was not a Katrina victim, never lived in Biloxi and had improperly received thousands of dollars in government aid. Ms. Fenton has pleaded not guilty.
For its profile, The Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton’s account, including her claim that she had lived in Biloxi. Such checks would have uncovered a fraud conviction and raised serious questions about the truthfulness of her account.
Jaw, hits, floor.
Wow that is crazy some one is not doing a good job and needs to be fired.
Comment by nkrh5 — May 15, 2006 @ 9:36 am
#1, Hope so, but given that it’s the New York Times, I doubt it.
Comment by TBlumer — May 15, 2006 @ 10:12 am