Read this op-ed by former Industry Standard editor James Ledbetter to be reminded how the business press excused themselves and still do now, for the abuse of trust of their readers during the dot-com boom. This guy is almost contrite, almost apologizes for his failure of ethics. We're offered every excuse, we're told he was angry with himself, and somehow that's enough, it's okay, he can go on being an editor at Time Europe, he can sell his book about the Industry Standard. This guy was certainly not a journalist when he was at the Standard, that's clear. Does he claim to be a journalist now? He wrote this piece now, and it ran in the NY Times. He says it would be wrong to blame business media alone, but that sidesteps the question. Would it be wrong to blame James Ledbetter. Imho, no it would not be wrong.
BTW, it's disgusting that the Times let him use their space to try to clean his reputation. After all if it's okay with the Times, it must be okay? This calls for a disclaimer from the Times saying they don't sanction the antics Ledbetter describes, and it's not enough to later admit to them, something more is required. Journalism is not such a casual thing. A lawyer who admitted such an ethical vaccuum would be disbarred. To me journalism is just as high a calling. Perhaps not for the Times? Disappointed. [Scripting News]