Reporter On The Roxanne Shante Story Chimes In... Sorta

from the well,-well dept

Thu, Sep 3rd 2009 1:53pm — Mike Masnick

So, yesterday, we published our report noting that the NY Daily News story about Roxanne Shante supposedly earning a PhD from Cornell didn't appear to be fact checked at all, and in checking the facts, we found that almost none of them checked out. I had contacted the Daily News asking them to put me in touch with the reporter on the story, Walter Dawkins, but had not heard back until about an hour ago. Someone claiming to be Dawkins called me (and a call to his phone turned up voicemail claiming to be Dawkins), saying that he heard about me looking into the story from an unidentified "Dan from Cornell" (not from the Daily News, so apparently separate from my request) and wanted to see what I had found out and if there was any more beyond what I had written. So I told him that I had written everything I had found out, but I was more curious in finding out from him if he had done any fact checking at all on the story, and could he back up any of the things in the story that didn't check out.

From there, the call got... weird. First he just started listing off the already debunked sources of the Cornell Magazine (I'm guessing he meant the Cornell Chronicle) and that alum list which was obviously wrong, since it was from '91, well before Shante claimed to have attended Cornell. Then he said he heard about it on a "Hot97 interview." Then there was a pause, and he suddenly got quite agitated, saying he had to "get out of here" and then, "I know what you're doing! No recording, no writing stuff down. Everything I just said is OFF THE RECORD." Of course, that's not how it works. If you have something to tell a reporter "off the record," you establish that first. And I pointed out that surely he, as a professional reporter, knows that. I won't reprint his response, because I guess we can assume that everything after that point in the call was, technically, "off the record" but I can say that he never answered a single question and that most of the rest of the call had him insisting that he had nothing to say to me, followed by me pointing out that he was the one who called me, not the other way around. Eventually, the call ended with him hanging up on me and refusing to answer any of the questions I asked. He did, at one point, promise me an official statement later, but I'm not holding my breath.

Meanwhile, Shante also has been responding oddly, telling one blog that she was just "going to let it go," and posting on Twitter that "in 3days I will rise again everything is temporary today's gossip is tomorrow's deleted messages." Apparently, 'fessing up isn't in the cards.

But, of course, we need those big important newspapers with their professional reporters and fact checkers, or the blogs would run wild with lies, right?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: fact checking, roxanne shante, walter dawkins
Companies: ny daily news

24 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

weneedhelp (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:13pm

Yet another example of...
why I don't use the mainstream media. I am so sick of biased yellow journalism. Then they want US to PAY for their crappy "news"? The collective analysis of hundreds, if not thousands usually gets it right. News outlets will die off, just as CD's replaced records, and MP3's will eventually replace CD's. Embrace change or die off. Just die already!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- :Lobo Santo (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:30pm
  
  Re: Yet another example of...
  Honestly, I get more out of the Colbert Report and The Onion than any 'legitimate' news outlet. At least with those two you know they're putting you on; while the 'legit' ones will lie to your face, claiming all the while it's true.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Designerfx (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:58pm
    
    Re: Re: Yet another example of...
    seconded. For me it's Colbert Report and Fark, mostly because fark has more amusing headlines (and fact checks). Example fark headline: Scottish men buy bigger condoms than the rest of the UK, but to be fair, you can't make a decent haggis in the smaller sizes.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Dark Helmet (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:44pm

Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
...then something needs to be proactively done in response to this. I mean, it's good to share the story, but that can't be the end of it. Much like you get witnesses and communities to come out against far greater wrongdoers (thieves, rapists, gangbangers, etc.), you need to take steps to make sure that Dawkins can't perpetrate this kind of intellectual crime on others. Phone records should be a good starting point of verification.

"Dawkins called me saying that he heard about me looking into the story from an unidentified "Dan from Cornell""

...mmkay, and did you ask who the fuck he was talking about? Did he say it like those really ditzy girls do where they just use first names and loose associations and just assume that because THEY know who they're referring to then you must to, because after all, who they know is, like, crazy imporant and stuff? This explanation of how he heard about your post sounds fishy.

"and wanted to see what I had found out and if there was any more beyond what I had written"

Oh, so he's an openly sharing information guy. Well, that's nice of him. Good of you to tell him everything you found out, too.

"but I was more curious in finding out from him if he had done any fact checking at all on the story, and could he back up any of the things in the story that didn't check out"

Well that's fair. You basically asked him the same thing he asked you. I smell a wonderful sharing of information amongst peers! Yaaay!

"First he just started listing off the already debunked sources of the Cornell Magazine"

Uh oh. Hope....fading....wish for....better news....

"Then he said he heard about it on a "Hot97 interview.""

....no way. He didn't really say that, did he? He said to you that one of his sources of information was from what I can assume was a radio interview. As a source. Of information, as opposed to terrible music. Naaaaah, no way. No way, because any journalist who managed to bang his TA long enough to scrape a passing grade through his college courses would know how ridiculous that is and would want to flee from the conversation immediately.

"Then there was a pause, and he suddenly got quite agitated, saying he had to "get out of here" and then, "I know what you're doing! No recording, no writing stuff down. Everything I just said is OFF THE RECORD.""

.....dammit, it WAS true. And my explanation of how he passed his classes is clearly the only one that makes any sense, given his lack of understanding of how "The Record" works.

"Meanwhile, Shante also has been responding oddly, telling one blog...that "in 3days I will rise again..."

....[speechless]....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 3:15pm
  
  Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
  "in 3days I will rise again..."
  
  Shante the anti-christ?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 3:23pm
    
    Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
    Just because she's on the cross doesn't make her Jesus...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 3:32pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
      Thus "anti-christ" not Jesus
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Dark Helmet (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 4:38pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
        Maybe he was saying that Jesus WAS the antichrist, meaning that the REAL christ came before him?
        
        Like John the Baptiste, perhaps?
        
        Or the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
        
        Or encased sausage?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        How Old Are You?, 3 Sep 2009 @ 4:51pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
        Or Dark Helmet. What is with the fake smiley face?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        CrushU, 3 Sep 2009 @ 5:13pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
        He changed it after commenting on the revelation that the media industry is giving permission to companies to distribute movies/music on torrents...
        
        He's Dark Joker now.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Dark Helmet (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 5:51pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay....IF that was really Dawkins....
        Actually it was my post award as comment of the day celebratory act.
        
        The truth is that there are so few good Dark Helmet photos out there....
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Robert Ring (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:50pm

Hilarious.
This story keeps getting better all the time.

Keep it comin' Mr. Dawkins!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 2:57pm

Job Opening
If anyone is looking for a job reporting for the NY Daily News, you may be in luck. I think there may be an opening soon.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 7:22pm
  
  Re: Job Opening
  roflol
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Derek Kerton (profile), 3 Sep 2009 @ 3:06pm

How Stuff Works
"today's gossip is tomorrow's deleted messages."

Yeah, because that's clearly how the Internet works. It would be different if there were gigabytes of storage somwhere on devices that could "serve" that stored data for decades to come, and some kind of free tools that would index and find information associated to key words, no matter how obscure. Of course, that would only make an impact if many people had access to a network and had devices to render that information. But, alas, no.

The Internets are just a modern version of the town cryer: loud for a ephemeral instant, mere echoes just seconds later.

You go Shante. I'm glad you're not a real Cornell grad - we already have to suffer the indignity of Andy from "The Office". I'll just add you to the list of fictional Alums that don't make the school proud.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 3:22pm

Why am I left with the impression that this Mr. Dawkins is not a "journalist" as that word is commonly understood? All the qualifications like "special" and "writer" leave me a bit suspicious about his actual status.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 4:31pm

When the reporter contacted Warner Brothers Records about the contract before the article, its only response was that it was having difficulty finding someone within the company who could "talk eloquently" about it.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/08/23/2009-08-23_rapper_schools_record_label_qns_ma_ makes_warner_music_foot_bill_for_phd.html#ixzz0Q5af9kUb

wtf
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2009 @ 7:29pm
  
  Re:
  " It has come to the attention of the Daily News that a number of statements in this article written for the Daily News by a freelance reporter are, or may be, false."
  
  Ignore the fact that blogs are the one that corrected you and blogs are the ones that came to the correct story before you and you simply FREELOADED off of blogs and act like you are the one initiated the original research and blogs simply parasite off of you. Give no credit to the blogs whatsoever but expect them to give you credit. HOW PATHETIC.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
D Davis, 4 Sep 2009 @ 7:40am

um, ouch
Ouch, you nailed him.

So.Bad.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Matt, 8 Sep 2009 @ 4:14am

Confirmation?
Can we be sure that this dude was the reporter?

Also, do a search for this guy. This is like the only story he has ever written and he doesn't have his own website, so I assume he's just a music fan or a blogger of some kind.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Matt, 8 Sep 2009 @ 4:21am

Or...
OK, well, maybe he's a teacher and a PR dude. From the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies (notice the EMI reference):

Basic Public Relations Writing
X50.9293/$785
S Sec. 1: Wed. 6.30–9 p.m., Sept. 23–Nov. 18
(8 sessions). No class Nov. 11. Walter Dawkins
,
journalist whose work has appeared in the
New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek,
Variety, and others; public relations at EMI
Records and the NBA.

http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:uG8Hq0Bt8jgJ:www.scps.nyu.edu/export/sites/scps/pdf/bul letin/fall-2009/scps-pr.pdf+Walter+Dawkins+journalist&cd=35&hl=zh-TW&ct=clnk&gl=hk&a mp;client=firefox-a
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
cheyenne, 22 Dec 2011 @ 7:02am

dance
u suck hahahhahahha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
cheyenne, 22 Dec 2011 @ 7:03am

dance
u suck hahahhahahha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
cheyenne, 22 Dec 2011 @ 7:03am

dance
u suck hahahhahahha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]