PressEthic

Apparently Jayson Blair is still attempting to weigh in on contemporary issues of the journalism community.

So what does Jayson have to say, you ask? To what subject could he possibly lend any bit of credibility? Well, of course, on the subject of diversity among newspapers.

Woooooah there, Jayson. He wrote in to Romenesko to discuss the hiring practices at the Washington Post and the New York Times. He actually has the gall to say,

There is a role for diversity management and affirmative action at newspapers, and it seems that The Post and The Times have both done wonderful jobs of executing affirmative action programs to correct their past discrimination and using diversity programs to enhance their diversity without harming the quality of their papers.

I have no doubt that there is a need to diversify newsrooms, and hiring practices should reflect this. There are good journalists out there who are not white males and, my apologies, they need to become part of newsroom life.

Really, though, I'm just riding wave of irony this week, and Jayson Blair coming out of his shell to say this, of all things... Well, you just have to love it.