The Self-Evident Nature of Media

Professional reputation is a constant struggle in any work place. Lawyers, doctors, and used car salesmen have one common thread between their work and their reputation: Believability. Peter Jennings said: “The worth of a journalist is to be believed and that is the greatest achievement of any journalist.” Building trust in a doctor and patient relationship is vital to the act of medicine. Building trust and a reputation of honesty between a writer and a reader relies on the same set of principles. A reader expects due diligence from a writer, a reliable work ethic in gathering materials, and honesty in every last stroke of the key.

“Self-made men are self-evident,” wrote James Frey in his harrowing non-fiction novel on alcohol and drug-abuse recovery. In one of the greatest stories of author betrayal of 2006, James Frey is burning at the stake due to fictional embellishments and fabrications in his “non-fiction” novel. Selected by the most powerful book of the month club, Oprah Winfrey, was at the forefront of the Frey debate when the infamous The Smoking Gun reported January 6th with news that Frey had lied to his reading public. Unfortunately, Oprah was duped and so were all of the people involved with the publication, marketing, and promotion of his book. Frey attempted to ease some of the reputations that he damaged by re-appearing on the Oprah show in a self-styled confessional. In the end, Frey’s agent fired him, the publishers Doubleday and Anchor books has published this apologetic statement to readers:

" It is, however, Doubleday and Anchor's policy to stand with our authors when accusations are initially leveled against their work, and we continue to believe this is right and proper. A publisher's relationship with an author is based to an extent on trust. Mr. Frey's repeated representations of the book's accuracy, throughout publication and promotion, assured us that everything in it was true to his recollections. When the Smoking Gun report appeared, our first response, given that we were still learning the facts of the matter, was to support our author. Since then, we have questioned him about the allegations and have sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished.

We bear a responsibility for what we publish, and apologize to the reading public for any unintentional confusion surrounding the publication of A Million Little Pieces."

Self-made men may seem to be self-evident but every man or woman must be able to prove their claims. Frey could have easily have promoted his writing career by having sold his novel as anything but non-fiction. In this extreme example, Frey has effected more than his own career. He has damaged his reputation, weakened the credibility of those that he has worked with, and he has momentarily widened the credibility gap between the media and the public. Will Frey write another novel? Most likely he will and hopefully Frey will not place himself at the center of controversy and instead focus on the act of responsible writing. After all, the media reputation is made one writer at a time.