Pulling the plug on Mike Daisey: When entertainment meets journalism

The fracas Friday involving monologuist Mike Daisey and the public radio show "This American Life" is not just the latest scandal of a purported truth teller caught in at least an act of embellishment, if not an outright lie, but a double-barreled cautionary tale. It reveals the perils of what can happen to news organizations when, in the pursuit of populist storytelling or buzz-heavy names, they subcontract their reporting to artists or entertainers. And it reveals what can happen to artists and entertainers when they become so seduced by the desire to compound their real-world influence that they obscure or misrepresent the nature of their work.

Chris Jones

March 17, 2012