Editors' Note
 en days ago, Jayson Blair resigned as a reporter for The New York Times
after the discovery that he had plagiarized parts of an article on
April 26 about the Texas family of a soldier missing in Iraq. An
article on Page 1 today recounts a chain of falsifications and
plagiarism that unraveled when The Times began an inquiry into that
Texas article. At least 36 more articles written by Mr. Blair since
October reflected plagiarism, misstatements, misrepresentation of the
reporter's whereabouts or a combination of those. An accounting of the
flaws will be found on the right side of this page, as the first
headline under "Related." Today's
article and the accounting result from a weeklong investigation by five
Times reporters and a team of researchers. The newspaper organized it
in the belief that the appropriate corrective for flawed journalism is
better journalism — accurate journalism. The reporters have
telephoned news sources cited by Mr. Blair and have interviewed other
journalists who worked with him. Executives have read them summaries of
telephone records and expense documents. To examine the newsroom
processes that went awry, they have had unrestricted access to other
Times staff members, including top editors, involved with Mr. Blair's
copy and the management of his career. Within the limits of laws and
ethical codes governing health and employment records, Times managers
have described documents for the reporting team. The
reporters' examination has centered on the last seven months, a period
in which Mr. Blair increasingly received assignments distant from the
newsroom, which allowed him wider independence. His earlier work, done
under closer supervision, will be spot-checked. If another major
examination appears warranted, it will be carried out. Readers and news
sources who know of defects in additional articles should send e-mail
to The Times: retrace@ nytimes.com. In online databases that
include copy from The Times, cautionary notices will be attached to the
faulty articles in coming days. The Times regrets that it did
not detect the journalistic deceptions sooner. A separate internal
inquiry, by the management, will examine the newsroom's processes for
training, assignment and accountability. For all of the
falsifications and plagiarism, The Times apologizes to its readers in
the first instance, and to those who have figured in improper coverage.
It apologizes, too, to those whose work was purloined and to all
conscientious journalists whose professional trust has been betrayed by
this episode.
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