In a statement given to The New York Times, Lehrer wrote, “Three weeks ago, I received an email from journalist Michael Moynihan asking about Bob Dylan quotes in my book ‘Imagine.’ The quotes in question either did not exist, were unintentional misquotations, or represented improper combinations of previously existing quotes. But I told Mr. Moynihan that they were from archival interview footage provided to me by Dylan’s representatives. This was a lie spoken in a moment of panic. When Mr. Moynihan followed up, I continued to lie, and say things I should not have said.”
“The lies are over now. I understand the gravity of my position. I want to apologize to everyone I have let down, especially my editors and readers. I also owe a sincere apology to Mr. Moynihan. I will do my best to correct the record and ensure that my misquotations and mistakes are fixed. I have resigned my position as staff writer at The New Yorker.”
Lehrer joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in early June, bringing his Wired blog, Frontal Cortex, with him. A few weeks after he joined, media blogger Jim Romensko pointed out that one of Lehrer’s first contributions to his newly moved blog borrowed from an earlier piece he had written for The Wall Street Journal.
Following that revelation were a landslide of others, as multiple journalists compiled other instances of self-plagarism. Editors at both Wired and The New Yorker began appending notes to Lehrer’s posts (see below), pointing out where he had borrowed from previous work.
But his crimes, by journalism standards, were worse. Writing for online magazine Tablet, Michael Moynihan published Monday an admission from Lehrer that he had fabricated quotes from Bob Dylan in his last book, Imagine, which was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Lehrer released the statement above following the publication of that story.
The New Yorker could not be reached for comment. UPDATE: Editor-in-chief David Remnick wrote, “This is a terrifically sad situation, but, in the end, what is most important is the integrity of what we publish and what we stand for.”
