Motivating Liars, Frauds and Cheats
In a move that has pretty much completely befuddled me, Esquire Magazine has hired the most famous liar in recent journalistic history to write a movie review for them.
Disgraced Journalist to Review Another Media Fraud

Jayson Blair, the utterly disgraced and disgraceful fake reporter for the New York Times, has gotten a new job, writing a movie review for Esquire about a movie about a reporter who made up sources and facts. Oooh, Esquire's sooooo avant garde, so cutting edge to have thought of this.

Um, yeah, Esquire is about as cutting edge as my mortar and pestle.

This is among the dumbest ideas I've heard in a while. Not because Jayson Blair doesn't deserve to get a job and make money and all that. But because someone's letting him write again professionally. Because someone, in this case David Granger (Email Him), Esquire's editor-in-chief, is going to be pay him to write. And, in doing so, they will be encouraging legions of slackers to do exactly what Blair did, lie, cheat, fabricate, embellish and otherwise commit fraud against the people he is supposed to be reporting to. Another generation of short cutters, corner cutters and get rich quick fools who would rather gain noteriety so they can cash it in for a few precious moments in the spotlight and live on easy street from then on. And its not a bad plan really, if it works and Jayson Blair is proof that it does.

[Update: I got an email back from David Granger pointing out the same thing that Ethan does in his comment, that Jayson Blair is not being paid for this article, that money earned is going to two journalism charities and the fact that this is a one shot deal for which he is uniquely qualified. With all that borne in mind, I still think this is a bad idea because it still sends the message that you can be a fraud and still get a byline in a major national publication.]

Its not what you do that gets you on the national stage, its that you get your face and name on the national stage. Don't be surprised if someone makes Katelyn Faber famous for accusing Kobe Bryant of raping her? She'll show up in weird places and will become a household name or word, maybe she'll even be absorbed into the lexicon of America, they'll say people got Faberized or Fabered.

The thought is that it doesn't mean anything why you got your face on tv, just that you got your face on tv. That's why people will eat pureed pig's liver and all the other gnarly and horrid stuff they make people eat on Fear Factor (that and $50,000). Its why people submit stupid home videos. Its why there are always knobssitting behind home plate at baseball games waving at the camera the whole time.

So, take a few moments and write old dumb David Granger a note to let him know what a terrible idea you think it is for him to be condoning the utterly despicable behaviour of his newest hire. I'm dropping him a note but don't worry, there's no chance I'd read a shitty rag like Esquire in the first place anyway.