Life Coach: The Blair Pitch Project

Cover of The Blair Witch Project

Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, R. Foster Winans. No litany of the list of charter members of the journalists' Hall of Shame was ever complete without including Jayson Blair.

The former New York Times wunderkind published his memoir in 2004--Burning Down My Masters' House: My Life at the New York Times, in which he accused The Grey Lady of racism and attributed the ethical missteps that led to his resignation from the Times in May 2003, to substance abuse and bipolar disorder. A 28-member task force of Times staffers and outside journalists examined Blair's body of work at the Times and uncovered 36 national stories written by Blair between October 2002, and May 2003, rife with alleged fabrications and instances of plagiarism. NYT Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd resigned because of the imbroglio.

After maintaining a relatively low profile over the past five years, Blair has re-surfaced as a life coach in Ashburn, Virginia. According to his Website (www.jayson-blair.com), he focuses on career assessment, attention deficit disorder, developmental disorders and substance abuse problems. Blair works for Ashburn Psychological Services where he receives praise from his superiors for his ability to connect with patients.

In this case, one hopes the adage "old habits die hard," does not apply, as clients dissatisfied with their lives should not be counseled to make up a new one.