Careful while cleaning house

In the wake of the revelation that reporter Jayson Blair fabricated and plagiarized at least 36 stories, The New York Times has been thrown into turmoil. The first casualty of the reorganization appears to be Pulitzer Prize-winner Rick Bragg.

Bragg faces a number of accusations pertaining to how he gathered information for articles, such as allowing interns to do interviews and using details from other newspapers' stories. The most serious case pertains to a story about a Florida oysterman, where Bragg admits he did little reporting but did not share a byline with a hired freelancer.

Ultimately, the author deserves a byline, not the sources. News assistants, interns and clerks are essential to many articles, but they should not share a byline. These individuals provide pieces of a story, but such bits of information come from many places. Many of the facts from this editorial were gathered from the Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review and Fox News. In addition, editors often add vital facts and rewrite large portions of articles. As Bragg points out, "[Reporters] gather the string that's out there."

While the information gathered can be from any source, this is not an excuse to withhold credit when due. In addition, everyone who spins this "string" into a story deserves a byline. In fact, it should be a pleasure to share a byline with another good writer, not a mark of shame. We hope Bragg realizes this.

However, The Times should not be out to punish every reporter for each mistake made. Any errors can be dealt with based upon their severity. Making reporters feel like a witch hunt is on will do nothing to fix the reputation of a paper. Don't throw the Braggs out with the Blairs.