At the event, Gladwell told a story about his mischievous days at the Washington Post, which was used on a recent episode of This American Life. While he was at the Post, as Gladwell puts it, he had a ???Jayson Blair moment,??? when he realized mistakes he put in the paper could have a major impact on the world. He went on to goad the National AIDS Conference to hold their annual meeting in Sydney, Australia because he hadn???t been there before.

Still bored, Gladwell and another employee held contests to put ridiculous expressions into the paper. There???s nothing wrong with having a predilection for a phrase; we end up using ???self-hating??? far more often than necessary. But Gladwell and his colleague wrote up stories that lacked news value to use the phrases ???raises new and troubling questions??? and ???perverse and often baffling.???

Gladwell???s story is funny enough to for listeners to forget that he wasn???t pulling pranks on the high school principal. He was pulling pranks on the Washington Post and their readers. Call us a curmudgeon, but that???s not so funny.

At the end of the Gladwell???s segment, Ira Glass, offhandedly tells listeners:

By the way, if there???s any ambiguity in here at all, young journalists, please note: putting false information into the newspaper is wrong.
But of course there is ambiguity in that story. After Gladwell gets the phrase ???perverse and often babbling??? onto the front page of the Washington Post, he announces, ???All those doubts about journalism melt away. And I say, ???This thing called newspaper writing, I can do that.??????

This story wouldn???t be humorous if Gladwell weren???t a great journalist today. But the fact that making a mockery out of a national newspaper inspires him to go on become to one is troubling. In fact, as Gladwell would put it, it???s perverse and often baffling.

Feb 19, 2008 · Link · 3 Responses
Related Posts
No related posts found.
Tagged: Ira Glass, Malcolm Gladwell, Moth, This American Life, Washington Post
Comments (3)
No. 1 Christina Cieslewicz says:
I had the same sort of reaction. He cheated his and the paper’s readers and what’s more, showed an inherent disrespect for the language. The more I think about it, the more cheated I feel. (Having read one of his books.) So those books of his, were they just another cute way to get another phrase into the general lexicon? Or does he really have something to say? How will we ever know now?

Posted: Mar 3, 2008 at 7:41 pm
No. 2 Robin Mahood says:
Guys – The stories told at the Moth Gala aren’t necessarily true . . .

Posted: Mar 17, 2008 at 12:00 am
No. 3 Mike Metcalf says:
Malcolm says himself…

As I think should be obvious if you listen to it, my story definitely belongs to the “tall tale” category. I hope you enjoy it. But please do so with a rather large grain of salt.

Once again, the joke’s on you.

Posted: Mar 17, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Leave a Comment
Scroll Posts

Malcolm Gladwell Laughs At Journalism was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

What do you think about Mindy Kaling's Elle magazine cover?

What do you think about Mindy Kaling’s Elle Magazine Cover? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Is Kim Kardashian's post-workout selfie photoshopped?

Is this Kim Kardashian post-workout selfie photoshopped? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Are you an Oreo purist or eager to try these new flavors? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

How long do you think it will take before the Justin Bieber rehab announcement is made?

How long before the Justin Bieber in rehab announcement? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Who will win Super Bowl XLVIII?

Who will win Super Bowl XLVIII? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.