Lying Travel Writer Rewarded With Book Deal [Plagiarism]

How's this for a reversal: A Lonley Planet writer claims he plagiarized and fabricated big chunks of travel guides, but his editors responded by saying he didn't lie as bad as he claims. Also, instead of being driven into literary infamy like, say, James Frey or Margaret Seltzer, the lying writer was instead rewarded with a contract to write a book about his deception, which has just been published. Writer Thomas Kohnstamm was the victim, you see: Lonely Planet didn't pay him enough, so he had to deal drugs and make things up just to make ends meet:

"They didn't pay me enough to go Colombia,'' he said.

"I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating - an intern in the Colombian Consulate.

Another author wrote, in an email:

"Why did you (management) not understand that when you hire a constant stream of new, unvetted people, pay them poorly and set them loose, that someone, somehow was going to screw you?''

Lonely Planet is standing by the accuracy of its guides, even though it is in the process of reviewing editions Kohnstamm worked on for accuracy. It also said Kohnstamm was hired to write about the history of Colombia, so there's nothing deceptive about the fact that he never visited the country.

(via Doree, Drudge) (Photo via Daily Telegraph)

The Ad With The Girl Waking Up To Pee [Things We Actually Like]

I know I know I'm posting an ad as a "thing we actually like." But I figure it won't move the product anyway, which I can't elaborate on for fear of ruining the joke. So here's the clip.

The surprisingly tasteful site is here if anyone wants to give a test drive. Do they air this sort of ad on Australian TV? And more importantly, can we get Jezebel to publish the results of the test drive?

Whoring Ex Guv, Wife In Counseling [Eliot Spitzer]

"Given that Mr. Spitzer was forced to resign after being implicated in a prostitution scandal, it is perhaps no surprise that he and his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, are in couples therapy — before his resignation, Mr. Spitzer himself promised to address his personal problems." [Times]

Jersey Man In Douchey Photo [The Rich]

"Hello? Is this Paul? Oh, hey, it's John in the Times photo department. So, thanks for agreeing to be the human face of indifferent plutocracy amid economic ruin. Well, I wouldn't call it an honor, per se. Some people didn't want to be in the article. No, seriously, Cayne asked us not to mention the naked violinist orgy thing. I know, nuts. Anyway, could you park a few of those exotic cars you mentioned right out front, in the driveway? We want the photo to look like something out of a rap video, or a Sopranos promo. What's that you say? A yellow convertible? Perfect! Hey, are there any homeless people in your neighborhood we could maybe frame in the corner of the picture? No? Oh well. At least pick out a really pimpin' tie, OK?" [Times]

Katie Couric Just One Element Of How CBS Sucks [Les Moonves]

Anonymous CBS News employees complained to the Times about how Katie Couric was getting too much attention and the rest of the company was going ignored. The paper went ahead and looked at the rest of CBS and, what do you know, it turns out Evening News host Couric "may be the least of" CBS's worries. Its prime time ratings are down 20 percent, viewers are the oldest among major networks, the news and sports websites are behind rivals, the Early Show just lost its executive producer and the news division is laying off people and cutting back budgets. Meanwhile, CBS chief Les Moonves (pictured) saw his salary rise to $37 million last year, more than twice what Couric is believed to make. Anyone else want to complain to the Times about how they are not getting enough attention? [Times]

The Smoking Gun Is Just Three Guys [Journalismism]

With just three guys in a plain office building on Manhattan's East side, investigative website TheSmokingGun.com revealed the LA Times' Tupac Shakur story was based on fake documents, exposed lying memoirist James Frey and found out that Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is into loofahs. The site modestly attributes much of its success to the recent digitization of court records and such, but it probably helps that its editor is a "veteran Mafia reporter" who knows where to look, and when, for the juiciest records:

[Editor William] Bastone said most people writing on the Web are most interested in its characteristics as a megaphone, as opposed to the toolbox it contains for practicing journalism.

“Name me a Web site that does original reporting. There aren’t many,” he said. Mr. Bastone is a low-key man who does not seem like the kind of guy who would be breaking big stories about Mafia figures, but he remains surprised that very little digital shoe leather is being expended, given the opportunities.

“It is beyond night and day from just 15 years ago in terms of reporting,” he said, shaking his head.” When I think about how many hours — hundreds of days, really — I spent in records offices looking for stuff I can just get on my desktop, it drives me crazy.”

[Times]

"McCain Girls" A Prank, Mercifully [Webtards]

The three women who dubbed themselves the "McCain Girls" and made a series of YouTube videos on behalf of the Republican presidential candidate were working for 23/6, the "humor" site from IAC/Huffington Post, and their entire campaign was a joke. To hear 23/6 President Sarah Bernard tell it, the first video was supposed to be an obvious parody of the Obama Girl videos, but no one understood that. Then 23/6 decided to keep the "prank" going as long as possible, which turned out to be one month. McCain watched the video repeatedly, he told Fox News in the clip after the jump, but his description of it as "very entertaining" hints that he knew something was fishy.

[Times]

WSJ Trying To Suppress Parody? [Publicity Stunts]

There may be a glimmer of truth behind the spoof video posted here Friday of Rupert Murdoch calling a tabloid parody of his Wall Street Journal "a fucking outrage... I want every single copy burned." An apparent Journal circulation guy has been going newsstand-to-newsstand in Los Angeles buying up all copies of the Journal parody pictured (click through for larger image). It's possible neither Murdoch nor anyone else at WSJ owner News Corp. is connected to the scheme, but the guy buying up the papers is the same one who usually brings Journal promotional materials, was wearing a WSJ shirt and paid with a corporate Amex, one newsstand operator told the Times:

“He grabbed them all, said, ‘I need to buy all of these,’ ” Mr. Laurence said. “He had been going around to different stands, buying them.”

The man paid with a corporate American Express card. “At first he’s saying they have to make a correction or it’s not supposed to be out yet,” Mr. Metz said. “But then he said these are not published by The Wall Street Journal.”

The Journal parody was created by former National Lampoon editor Tony Hendra, who has parodied the WSJ before, as well as comedian Richard Belzer, Monty Python member Terry Jones and humorist Andy Borowitz, according to the Times. Its website is wsjparody.com.

[Times]

NBC "Family Hour" Hosted "MILF Island" [Evil Corporations In Action]

That "MILF Island" episode of 30 Rock everyone was talking about Friday? In which 20 hot moms square off in front of 50 eighth-grade boys at "Erection Cove?" It aired during NBC's "Family Hour," in which the whole family is supposed to be able to gather in front of the TV together. NBC executive Ben Silverman re-launched the concept just 10 days ago. Anyone who took the man at his word — and hopefully few people did — either had a very awkward night or has a very interesting family. Now NBC is trying to rewrite what it meant by "family hour." Here's network exec Mitch Metcalf in tomorrow's Times:

Mr. Metcalf said that the family-hour designation should be seen as offering “direction for program development,” not “black-and-white expectations” for the audience.

“It was not to be construed as a return to a strictly defined family hour,” he said, featuring wholesome shows like “Little House on the Prairie,” a hit on NBC in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

Below, a brief reminder of what NBC's not-so-"strictly-defined" family hour now looks like. It was kind of bizarre to slot 30 Rock into a family hour to begin with.