Tabloid time at uggabugga:

Normally we stay away from personal stories when processing the news, but in the case of the New York Times affair, we find ourselves curious about what makes Jason Blair tick. Was he simply a con-man, or is the story more complicated? What, for example, was Blair's reaction to the news that Raines and Boyd resigned? According to CBS Channel 2 New York, it's this:

Shortly after the high-level resignations at the Times were announced, CBS 2's Andrew Kirtzman snared an exclusive interview with Blair, who commented on the latest developments.

"I'm truly sorry for my actions and what they have done," said Blair. "I feel like, you know, I was in a cycle of self-destruction, but I never intend, and I never intended to hurt anyone else. And the pain that I have caused my colleagues, I'm sorry. The pain for my family and friends and anybody else."

Blair called the affair a "complicated human tragedy," and when asked by Kirtzman to define that phrase said, "It has to do with my own human demons, my own weaknesses, and it ranges from, you know, my struggles with substance abuse, to my own struggles with mental illness."

Asked about his future plans, Blair says he's "thought about doing some volunteer work with people who have mental illness. I've thought about doing volunteer work related to substance abuse."

What kind of mental illness leads a person to engage in deception of colleagues and friends? We will be very interested to learn more as this story develops.

posted by Quiddity at 6/06/2003 09:26:00 AM