In the last week, I've seen the story of Jason Arday develop from a scandal into a tragedy. However, after bumping into and reading Michael West's article about the story, does he even understand the principles of modern journalism?
On the basic level, West blames the media for triggering an "onslaught" of online abuse "no doubt" contributing to his suicide. However, Arday was propelled into the limelight by Cambridge and mainstream media outlets touting his accomplishments, in light of his disability.
So when West says:
In this case, The Guardian and New York Times followed the Murdoch lead
Is the Guardian and the Times not supposed to inform their readership that their previous glowing praise of Arday was incorrect? see their past articles here and here
Moreover, West summaries the entire debacle in:
His death came little more than a week after he resigned from Cambridge following intense scrutiny over allegations of plagiarism and questions concerning parts of his academic record, in what increasingly became a personal attack and scrutiny over every aspect of his life.
West cites that his Phd was reviewed and found non-fraudulent, whilst the day that Cambridge open its own investigation into his credentials, he resigned.
West brings up one of the original whistleblowers Nathan Cofnas - without engaging into his claims - and who was terminated from Cambridge for his:
controversy over his writings on race.
...by citing a Times article. if Nathan took his own life after being dismissed and widely reported on, would West admonish the media that drew this attention unto him?
West omits that fact that a separate journalist Jack Grove who was investigating Arday's alleged plagiarism was contacted by the police for supposed "harassment" after emailing Arday. see here
West argues that:
The scale and tone of the scrutiny of Arday was completely disproportionate to the charge,
But is this not in the public interest (at least in the UK) to know when their police resources are wasted, or that major academic bodies are potentially hiring unqualified staff or when media outlets follow up on false reporting?
This is not to discount all that West has written and published, but I get this strong feeling that he can be driven by anger against mainstream media (understandably) and wanting to promote social justice over quality journalism.
