Brian WilliamsWilliams made headlines this week when it came to light a story he's told for years about a helicopter he was riding in while covering the War in Iraq coming under fire was, in fact, false. New allegations have also emerged that call into question some of his reporting from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Brian Williams Williams made headlines this week when it came to...  Lara LoganIn a quagmire for "60 Minutes," Logan reported on the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi during an October 2013 episode of the show. The story mostly centered on the eyewitness account of the attack from Dylan Davies, a security contractor, who also criticized the U.S.'s lack of preparation for such an attack and the reaction to the attack. But it was later shown that Davies hadn't actually been present for the attack and the story was littered with more factual inaccuracies. After time away from the show, Logan returned to "60 Minutes" last year.  Lara Logan In a quagmire for "60 Minutes," Logan reported on the...  Stephen GlassAfter a meteoric rise at The New Republic, Glass' career unraveled after Forbes dug into his story "Hack Heaven" and found the entire thing - including the alleged teenager hacker and the company the teen hacked - a fabrication. An ensuing internal investigation at TNR turned up a range of similar grievances in about two-thirds of Glass' stories at the publication. Glass' attempt to become a lawyer in California were recently rejected and Hanna Rosin, a former TNR colleague of his, wrote a lengthy essay about Glass and his attempt at reconciliation in November 2014.  Stephen Glass After a meteoric rise at The New Republic, Glass'...  Jayson BlairResponsible for perhaps the biggest scandal in the New York Times' long history, Blair was fired from the paper after it was discovered he had fabricated quotes and plagiarized bits of several of his stories, including stories about the D.C. sniper and military vets. The Blair scandal also led to the removal of executive editor Howell Raines after it was shown that Raines had ignored warnings about Blair's writing from another editor.  Jayson Blair Responsible for perhaps the biggest scandal in the New...  News of the World phone hacking Andy Coulson (left) and Rebekah Brooks (right) were two of the biggest figures to fall in an investigation that came to a head in 2011 with the closing of the 168-year-old paper. Celebrities like Hugh Grant, Paul McCartney, and JK Rowling were victims, as were members of the royal family. But the hammer fell faster and more furious when it was revealed that staff had accessed the voicemail of then-missing teenager Milly Dowler (later found murdered). Rupert Murdoch, then owner of the paper, was called in to testifying during the many hearings related to the case.  News of the World phone hacking Andy Coulson (left) and Rebekah...  Dan RatherRather had an incredible, distinguished career that closed on a sour note. In the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election, Rather reported for CBS News' "60 Minutes" on documents that criticized then-president George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. After defending the source of the documents and the story against questions of authenticity, it was revealed that the documents, purported to be from Bush's commanding officer, were fraudulent. CBS fired several producers and some believe the incident caused CBS to force Rather into retirement.  Dan Rather Rather had an incredible, distinguished career that...  Bill Simmons and Grantland's Dr. V storySimmons, by far ESPN's most popular columnist, has been a lightning rod for controversy, most notable a recent suspension in the fall of 2014 for calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a "liar" on his podcast. But a story on his Grantland website written by Caleb Hannan drew sharp criticism to the site, Simmons, and Hannan. The story starts as a look into a special putter developed by Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt but turned into something of an expose of Dr. V when Hannan discovered discrepancies with some credentials that led to the discovery she was transgender. Dr. V committed suicide three months before the story's publication and many friends suggest she was driven to it out of fear of being outed by Hannan's story.  Bill Simmons and Grantland's Dr. V story Simmons, by far ESPN's most...  Benny Johnson and BuzzfeedEven new media outlets aren't immune to big mistakes and Buzzfeed learned this the hard way last summer with the firing of political reporter Benny Johnson, who had been found to have plagiarized passages from multiple sources in over 40 stories he wrote for the digital outlet.  Benny Johnson and Buzzfeed Even new media outlets aren't immune to...  Gary WebbAn investigative reporter by trade, Webb joined the San Jose Mercury News in 1988 and, in 1996, the paper published his three-part "Dark Alliance" series. The story detailed a cocaine pipeline between San Francisco and Los Angeles gangs and a CIA-backed guerrilla army in Latin America. A backlash and criticisms from both the government and other papers led to the Merc acknowledging some weaknesses in the stories and assigning Webb to a different beat. Yet, in recent years, the pendulum has swung back in favor of Webb with many now contending that his reporting was, for the most part, accurate and that the backlash was misdirected. Unfortunately, Webb didn't live long enough to see this as, beset by financial and family problems, he committed suicide in late 2004.  Gary Webb An investigative reporter by trade, Webb joined the San...  Janet Cooke Cooke won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for her Washington Post story, “Jimmy’s World," about an 8-year-old heroin addict. Problem is, Jimmy didn't exist, a fact that Cooke admitted after her previous employer had noted discrepancies in her resume following the Pulitzer win. Cooke came clean that "Jimmy" was a fictitious character, returning her Pulitzer and resigning from the Post.  Janet Cooke Cooke won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for her Washington...  ABC and the Food Lion scandal In the 1990s, after receiving tips on unsanitary practices at Food Lion grocery stores, ABC's Primetime Live sent reporters undercover to work at a Food Lion store and catch some of these nefarious practices on tape. But Food Lion called out ABC for misleading practices and showed that some of the acts were encouraged by producers . Food Lion sued ABC, though not for defamation (it won what eventually was a minor award).  ABC and the Food Lion scandal In the 1990s, after receiving tips on...  The Chicago Sun-Times' Mirage Tavern seriesIn 1977, editors and reporters for the Chicago Sun-Times created their own bar meant to capture examples of shakedowns of business owners by city officials. Hidden cameras caught the action on film. The resulting 25-story series was initially nominated for a Pulitzer but didn't win after complaints from other journalists that the stories were based on undercover deception. Despite that, the series did lead to some major reforms in Chicago.  The Chicago Sun-Times' Mirage Tavern series In 1977, editors and...  NBC and GMIn late 1992, NBC's "Dateline" aired a full episode dedicated to claims that a certain model of GM pickup trucks had faulty fuel tanks that exploded upon impact. Upset with the charges, GM did its own investigation and uncovered the fact NBC had actually rigged the tanks to explode when filming crash test sequences for the special. GM filed a lawsuit against NBC which the network quickly settled out of court.  NBC and GM In late 1992, NBC's "Dateline" aired a full episode...  The Hitler DiariesIn 1983, Stern, a West German news magazine, published what it claimed were excerpts from Adolf Hitler's private diaries, tomes that had obtained aver paying nearly $4 million U.S. But shortly after the publication, the diaries were revealed to be a hoax. The Sunday Times in the UK and the U.S. news magazine Newsweek were also hoodwinked by the forgeries. Rupert Murdoch, no stranger to journalism scandals, later admitted he was responsible for the excerpts being published in the Times.  The Hitler Diaries In 1983, Stern, a West German news magazine,...  The L.A. Times and Staples Center The Times found itself in an imbroglio in late 1999 when it was discovered that the paper had reached an agreement to share revenue from a special magazine about the newly open Staples Center arena with the arena. The paper saved some face when it was revealed neither the editors or reporters working on the special magazine were aware of the deal.  The L.A. Times and Staples Center The Times found itself in an...  Judith MillerMiller's short tenure at the New York Times was marked by controversy. First, it was revealed that much of her reporting on the claim of WMDs in Iraq in the lead-up to the conflict in that country was based on faulty information from a source, Ahmed Chalabi, later proven to be unreliable. And, in 2005, Miller was briefly jailed for contempt of court for refusing to disclose in court her source regarding the leaking of information about the outing of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame.  Judith Miller Miller's short tenure at the New York Times was marked...  Jonah LehrerLehrer ran in to trouble in 2012 when it was reported he had fabricated quotes in one of his books attributed to Bob Dylan. Lehrer was also accused of inaccuracies in an article for Wired magazine and self-plagiarizing stories he had written for other outlets in blog posts for the New Yorker.  Jonah Lehrer Lehrer ran in to trouble in 2012 when it was reported...  Jack KelleyKelly, then a USA Today reporter, made the wrong kind of headlines in 2004 when it was revealed that he had fabricated large sections of several stories and had even swiped quotes from other outlets. His former paper considered a 2000 story about a woman who Kelley claimed had died during an attempt to flee Cubs his most "egregious" story but he also came under fire for reporting from Kosovo and a 2001 story about a suicide bombing in Jerusalem that led him to be a Pulitzer finalist.  Jack Kelley Kelly, then a USA Today reporter, made the wrong kind of...  Mitch AlbomWhile Albom has become more known to your mother as the guy who wrote maudlin books like "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The First Phone Call from Heaven," he's also a renowned sports columnist and that's when he ran into trouble. In 2005, he was suspended from the Detroit Free Press after writing a column ahead of an event (the 2005 Final Four) that contained erroneous information he failed to fact check before publication. This sort of error has been repeated numerous times in the journalism world, but Albom's the highest profile reporter to have been disciplined for it.  Mitch Albom While Albom has become more known to your mother as the...
Internal NBC review finds suspended anchor embellished coverage of Israel/Hezbollah conflict, the Arab Spring and more, according to reports  Both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported Friday and Saturday that NBC brass has found other questionable comments by Williams regarding his reporting in 2006 from the Israel/Hezbollah conflict; descriptions made about his reporting from Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring protests in 2011; the details surrounding him receiving a fragment of the helicopter that crashed during the mission that killed Osama bin Laden; as well as other undisclosed incidents.  After Stewart said pro-government forces used whips against protestors, Williams recounted witnessing just that, adding, “he went around the corner after I saw him, they pulled out whips and started beating human beings on the way.”  Another apparent tall tale comes from Williams’ interview with a Fairfield University student TV show in 2007 regarding his reporting from the Israel/Hezbollah conflict in 2006.  [...] in his own blog post, Williams depicted a much less dramatic scene: “Over the constant air traffic control radio traffic in Hebrew, we learn there is activity on the ground right below us.”  The new discrepancies being found — on top of the original exaggeration where Williams said his Iraqi helicopter was shot down by RPG fire in 2003 — make it even harder to fathom NBC News brining Williams back to the anchor chair when his suspension is set to wrap in August.