The truth divided by four

Bret Stephens of the Jerusalem Post on the Jayson Blair and Rick Bragg capers. He finds that while the Blair caper reinforces what we already know about racial preferences and the ability of cheaters to flourish, the Bragg affair contains some new lessons about the parlous state of journalism at the Times and elsewhere. Stephens’ conclusion is this: “As job applicants routinely inflate their CVs, employers price this reality into their decisions. Ditto with political candidates and the public that elects them. With l’affare Bragg, some of us may now learn to do the same with the venerable New York Times. Take the story, divide by two, and you’ll have something like the truth. Or is that by four?”