{"article":{"id":113688,"heading":"Americans Will Heppily Help Journalists Violate Ethics","author":"Rodger Jacobs","created":"2004-07-01 21:32:10","modified":"2004-07-02 19:45:31","last_modified":"Sat, 03 Jul 2004 03:45:31","article":"

AMERICANS WILL HAPPILY HELP JOURNALISTS VIOLATE ETHICS

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Americans not only believe in freedom of the press, but many are happily willing to help the media fake sources for a story.

That's what journalist Rodger Jacobs discovered when he pulled a media prank by placing a

classified ad on craigslist.org, explaining he was a reporter who fudged a story about buying

fake I.D.s and needed someone willing to \"pretend to be Paco,\" a phony street source quoted in

the story.

Jacobs posted the ad on Saturday (Jun. 26) and he received more than 35 inquiries before it was

taken down on Sunday night. Some of the potential Pacos include one voiceover actor who

touted his radio commercials for Papa John's pizza and another who claimed he actually sold fake I.D.s for a living.

The plug on the prank was pulled Sunday night (Jun. 27),when a reporter contacted Jacobs about

the ad. As he puts it, \"She had faith no real journalist would actually do this.\" That might sound

like good news to some, but Jacobs is still \"disappointed\" that so many regular citizens had \"no

qualms about helping a journalist violate their ethics.\"

CONTACT: Rodger Jacobs, ****; rdjacobs@concentric.net<\/a>

<\/p>\n","contact":"rdjacobs@concentric.net","link":"http:\/\/8763wonderland.crimsonzine.com","address":"","phone":"818.419.8134","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"This story went out to 800-plus media outlets this week and yet only a slim handful expressed interest. Cynicism on behalf of the media or does this happen more than we know?","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2004\/07\/113688.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":113726,"heading":"a minor racist","article":"Read his essay Educating Oscar: Snakeheads at Starbucks.\r\n\r\nHe compares Glendale to Blade Runner because whites are a minority there. (Hey, welcome to LA. Glendale is very white compared to other cities. I've lived there, and it's hardly like Blade Runner. It's actually a conservative Republican enclave.)\r\n\r\nThen he goes on about an exotic fish and his dicussion of it is a little rude.\r\n\r\nThen he points out that Iranian women are hairy.\r\n\r\nThat's mild racism masquerading as cultural tolerance. It's better than more serious forms of racism, but, it's fucked up that a white guy writing this crap usually gets away with it (i.e. can establish a career writing) while a minority with similarly mildly racist views is typically shunned (unless they're in standup comedy)... because he or she would make the white people with money uncomfortable.\r\n\r\nAnd... that is the essence of racism today. Power.","author":"more rational","parent_id":113688,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-07-02 18:15:36","modified":"2004-07-02 18:15:36","fileurl":""},{"id":113732,"heading":"Jacobs's an egoist, not really racist","article":"i'd never read anything of Jacobs's before and found the recommended reading here.\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.strike-the-root.com\/4\/jacobs\/jacobs6.html\r\n\r\nHe seems more of a smarmy H-wood asswit, too into himself to really be a racist.\r\n\r\nA search at IMDB finds no Rodger Jacobs of note.\r\n","author":"Dean Kamen","parent_id":113688,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-07-02 19:45:31","modified":"2004-07-02 19:45:31","fileurl":""}]}