Jayson Blair 101

Students and teachers access the aftermath

by Erna Smith, News Watch Director

As former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair returns to the media spotlight with publication of his memoir, Burning Down My Mastersí House, News Watch presents a special report on the impact of the Blair case on the education of young journalists.

News Watch was heartened by the passion for ethical and socially responsible journalism expressed by the students we interviewed. Their response proves Blair is an aberration, no more representative of his generation than the disgraced journalists who preceded him were of theirs.

The report was prepared and written by News Watch staffers Lena-Nsomeka Gomes, Reinalyn Ramos, Nathaniel Tishman, Dawn Withers and Christine Yee, all journalism majors at SF State, as well as guest columnist and editor, Jose Antonio Vargas, a political science major. The students worked under the direction of News Watch director, Professor Erna Smith.

Click on the LAUNCH MULTIMEDIA button on the right hand side of the page to see our special report on Jayson Blair.

We welcome feedback and invite you to email your comments to newsproj@sfsu.edu.