Wall of Shame: Janet Cooke

Janet Cooke wrote an article called “Jimmy’s World” that appeared in the Washington Post on September 29, 1980.  The article told the heart-wrenching story of “Jimmy," a young boy who was consumed in the thriving heroin trade that was, at that time, devastating low-income neighborhoods in Washington D.C.  Crooke reported that Jimmy had become a heroin addict after being introduced to the drug by his mother’s live-in boyfriend saying, “Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict, a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms.”  She also included in the article that Jimmy aspired to be a heroin dealer when he grew up.  Controversy surrounded the story as soon as it was released.  Many readers demanded Cooke reveal where the boy lived so he could be helped, but Cooke refused.  She claimed that she needed to protect her life as well as her sources’ lives from threats from drug dealers and by revealing Jimmy’s location she would be putting them all in harm’s way.  When Cooke refused to reveal the boy’s location, the city government launched an intensive search to find him.

            As time passed and Jimmy’s whereabouts remained unknown, people began to question if the boy even existed.  Rumors began to circulate around the city suggesting Cooke had fabricated the story.  However, the Washington Post stood by their writer and defended the validity of her article.  On April 13, 1981 Cooke was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her story.  It was on that day the editors of the Post, who had learned that Cooke lied about various credentials on her resume, demanded proof that Jimmy was real and the story she wrote was valid.  Cooke, being unable to provide such proof, admitted she had never met Jimmy and that she had fabricated much of her article.  She offered her resignation and the Post returned the Pulitzer Prize. 

            Cooke later appeared on the Phil Donahue show to offer an explanation of the humiliating incident.  She claimed the high-pressure environment of the Washington Post influenced her decision in writing the story, alleging that the newspaper was still “riding high” from the journalistic coup it had scored in the early seventies with the Watergate story.  She explained that a few sources had given her leads about “Jimmy”, but when she was unable to find him, she decided to fabricate a story in order to satisfy her editors.  Cooke then dropped out of the public eye for many years, disgraced by being caught fabricating such a story. 

References:

• Writer says drug story faked, paper surrenders Pulitzer Prize," The Globe and Mail. April 16, 1981. P1.
• "The Story." Washington Post. April 19, 1981. A12-A15.