Blair and Spitzer speak in universities. Why not?

Recently, two so-called “disgraced” figures were invited to give speeches at two universities: former NYT reporter Jason Blair in Washington & Lee, and ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer in Harvard.

Unlike some blogers and commentators, I don’t have a problem with them giving lectures at universities. Of course, it all depends on what they talk about. If they wanted to give moral admonition, it would not be valid. However, if they talked about the lessons they have learned from their mistakes, they could be good speakers.

When studying ethical issues, we learn, not only from principles, rules and positive examples, but also from other people’s mistakes. It’s easy to say that “I have nothing to learn from them, because I will never cheat,” but based on our text book, cheating is not uncommon with college students, nor among journalists. Sometimes, even “solid reporters” are tempted to “fudge the facts” (Ethics in Journalism, p. 102). So, Blair may be the right person to answer some questions related to journalistic ethics, such as: Did he always have problems with honesty, or had some norms of journalistic writing given him temptation to cheat? Was his deceit character-based, or situation-based? Why would a talented journalist like him plagiarize and fabricate stories? Was he under too much pressure? Did he feel incapable? Was he just being lazy? Did he think he was just too smart to be caught? And, what are the consequences of doing unethical things? … A lesson by negative example can be valuable.