Director’s Statement

CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
•Thurs. March 20, 2014 @ 9:00pm at Apollo Theater
•Thurs. March 27, 2014 @ 9:45pm with FilmForum
•Friday March 28, 2014 @ 4:15pm with FilmForum

AMERICAN COPY EDITORS SOCIETY CONFERENCE
(Planet Hollywood Casinos- Las Vegas, NV)
•Sat March 22, 2014 @ 12:15pm

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS
(Washington D.C. Regional Conference)
•Saturday March 29, 2014

SEBASTOPOL FILM FESTIVAL
•Saturday March 29, 2014 @ 7pm

ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
•Sunday March 30, 2014 @11:30am

THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
•Thurs. March 20, 2014 @ 3:00pm

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
•10 Mar 2014 @ 5:00pm

BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
•18 Feb 2014 @ 7:00pm

HOT DOCS: DOC SOUP- Featured Film
•8 Jan 2014 @ 6:30pm
•9 Jan 2014 @ 6:45pm & 9:00pm

DOC NYC
•16 Nov 2013 @ 7:00pm

STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL

•10 Nov 2013 @ 4:00pm
•11 Nov 2013 @ 9:00pm
•12 Nov 2013 @ 4:00pm

EAST LANSING FILM FESTIVAL
•9 Nov 2013 @ 4:00pm and 9:00pm
•11 Nov 2013 @ 4:00pm

FORT LAUDERDALE FILM FESTIVAL
•24 Oct 2013 @ 3:30pm
•25 Oct 2013 @ 6:00pm
•26 Oct 2013 @ 6:30pm
•28 Oct 2013 @ 5:30pm

HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL
•20 Oct 2013 @ 7:30pm

HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
•18 Oct 2013 @ 6:15pm
•19 Oct 2013 @ 1:45pm

ONLINE NEWS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
•17 Oct 2013 @ 10:30am

US PREMIER

HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
•11 Oct 2013 @ 3:45pm
•12 Oct 2013 @ 1:30pm

UC BERKELEY
•27 Aug 2013 @ 6:30pm

WORLD PREMIER

SHEFFIELD DOC FEST, Sheffield, England UK
•15 Jun 2013 @ 15:30
•16 Jun 2013 @ 13:00
A FRAGILE TRUST tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, drug
the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked the New York Times and the entire world of journalism. In 2003 Blair was caught plagiarizing the work of other reporters and supplementing his own reporting with fabricated details in dozens of different stories published in the Times. The ensuing media frenzy left a major blemish on the history of the ‘Old Grey Lady’, which just a year earlier won a record 7 Pulitzer prizes for its coverage of 9/11. It was a spectacular fall for both Blair and the paper. The daily operations of the Times newsroom became a public spectacle as every major news outlet picked up the story and ran with it. The fact that Blair is African-American was emphasized again and again as accounts of the ‘Blair Affair’ served up sordid details in a soap-opera style tale of deception, drug abuse, racism, mental illness, hierarchy, white guilt, and power struggles inside the hallowed halls of the New York Times.

Through the course of the film, we follow Blair as he slowly unravels in the face of mounting pressures and distractions. Starting with his ‘reporting’ of the plagiarized article that ultimately lead to his undoing, we trace the rise and fall of this fascinating young reporter as he clings to his career at the Times even as he is losing his mind.

The Jayson Blair scandal is at the most basic level a compelling, character-driven narrative about an important chapter in the history of journalism. It is also a complex story about power, ethics, representation, race, and accountability in the mainstream media. Featuring exclusive interviews with everyone involved, including former Executive Editor Howell Raines and Blair himself, A FRAGILE TRUST is the first film to tell the whole sordid story of the scandal while exploring these deeper themes. With more and more publications moving to online-only formats and plagiarism on the rise, this cautionary tale about the slippery slope of ethical transgressions is more relevant than ever.
As a third generation journalist, website like this
I care deeply about the future of the profession. Getting people thinking and talking about the challenges facing journalism, no rx while reinforcing the notion that reliable and accurate journalism is essential to a functioning democracy, is why I’m doing this work. My hope is to draw people in with a gripping and entertaining account of this fascinating story, and then keep them engaged long enough to explore these issues in a deeper way.

As more and more people consume their news online, news publications seem to be shifting en masse to an online only format. With this shift, plagiarizing has become as simple as a quick cut and paste, making the ethical boundary seem easier to cross. With a new plagiarism scandal breaking nearly every week, the lessons learned in the aftermath of the Blair Affair are more relevant than ever.

A FRAGILE TRUST takes a deeper look into the mind of Jayson Blair, the serial plagiarist, and explores what caused this promising young man to make so many bad decisions, while also examining the institutional dynamics inside the Times that may have contributed to Blair’s downfall.

Director’s Statement

A FRAGILE TRUST NATIONAL PBS BROADCAST

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

PAST SCREENINGS

A FRAGILE TRUST OPENS NATIONALLY IN THEATERS
•Friday, April 11 – Thursday, April 17, 2014, 4:30pm & 7:30pm Daily

SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL

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Director’s Statement

A FRAGILE TRUST NATIONAL PBS BROADCAST

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

PAST SCREENINGS

A FRAGILE TRUST OPENS NATIONALLY IN THEATERS •Friday, April 11 – Thursday, April 17, 2014, 4:30pm & 7:30pm Daily

SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL

Facebook

Twitter

A FRAGILE TRUST OPENS NATIONALLY IN THEATERS
•Friday, April 11 – Thursday, April 17, 2014, 4:30pm & 7:30pm Daily