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Article: All about the retrospect: Jayson Blair charmed and dazzled the right people on his rapid rise from cocky college student to New York Times national reporter. But he left plenty of clues about the serious problems that lay beneath the surface.
- Article from:
- American Journalism Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 University of Maryland. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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He'd come in early and stay late.
First in, last out-that's the kind of thing people remember about disgraced reporter Jayson Blair. On fire. Driven. Larger than life. So much talent, so much passion, so much energy. It was crazy, they say, the amount of energy this kid had. And natural inquisitiveness, too, the kind of thing you just can't teach. He got it, Oh, and the charm-boy did he ever have that. Full-blown charisma. "Wow," people would actually say, "Who is this guy?"
Not a bad question, in retrospect. And with Jayson Blair, it's all about the retrospect. Because on April 29, all of those perceptions started coming undone, as reports surfaced ...