Talk:Janet Cooke

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Lies[edit]

When it was pointed out that Janet had lied about her qualifications, some one said that such lies are caused by the fact that employers ask for unnecessary qualifications. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.149.223.218 (talk) 16:42, 28 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Janet claimed that she was fluent in various languages, not needed in a mainly English-speaking area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.10.3.142 (talk) 16:28, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

what relevancy has it that "employers ask for unnecessary qualifications"? journalism is writing (and a good lot more) so the emphasis would have been on whatever she presented as samples, (as a retired journalist/editor i would have tested her news sense as well). her "degree"(s) would have been considered icing on the cake. however, the prime pole holding up the reporter's tent is one's veracity. had she not lied about her degree - had said, let's say "i was studying literature but responded much more to the visceral qualities of news so i didn't graduate" she most likely would be writing there still (assuming she didn't tell any porkies). 65.95.193.14 (talk) 18:06, 9 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I seem to remember at the time, that she got busted because the school from which she claimed to have earned a journalism degree denied that she'd ever attended their institution. Does anyone know what school that was? I thought it was an ivy-league school. 24.6.159.76 (talk) 13:28, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You're correct that Janet Cooke lied about her academic credentials, but you have the details slightly wrong. What happened was that Cooke had claimed she graduated cum laude from Vassar College and that she had a master's degree from the University of Toledo. In reality, she only attended Vassar for her freshman year and then finished her bachelor's degree at the University of Toledo. She did not have a master's degree. L'être et le néant (talk) 02:39, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Cooke claimed to have earned a degree from Vassar College, one of the so-called "Seven Sisters" of historically all-female colleges. In fact she studied at Vassar but never finished – one of several résumé fudgings described in the post-mortem article written by Washington Post ombudsman Bill Green after the scandal broke. I have included this detail and the citation in an article update. – Howard Yune, Sept. 19, 2010 (2138 PDT) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.170.8.194 (talk) 04:39, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cooke claimed to speak five languages. It is not clear if this includes English. She only had a slight command of French. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.27.109.117 (talk) 12:09, 15 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

References and Sources[edit]

Do these need separate headings in the article? Or can they be combined into one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.182.172.229 (talk) 20:36, 20 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Black[edit]

The article fails to mention she is black, even though her colour is said to have been instrumental in her receiving the Pulitzer for her dubious narrative in the first place. Varlaam (talk) 06:56, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A Google Image search will produce numerous photos of Janet. The original article even had a drawing of Jimmy, being injected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.27.109.117 (talk) 11:53, 15 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A Google Search will indicate Martin Luther King Jr. is black too. Should we remove it from his bio? 2601:643:8D80:9D10:BDCC:A391:9872:F6DF (talk) 04:20, 29 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

person from Kalamazoo[edit]

I see nowhere in the article or in any of the references her connection to Kalamazoo. So why is she on the list of people from Kalamazoo? Gtwfan52 (talk) 22:23, 3 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Who made the announcement?[edit]

The article says "Jimmy was announced dead shortly after."

Who made the announcement? Moriori (talk) 00:55, 6 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

J-school classes and cosmetics[edit]

Reportedly, what she did has been a subject of journalism classes around the country since then.

In the last few years or so, someone on the radio said Cooke had been seen in a cosmetics sales position.

I don't have sourcing for either statement.

Nick Levinson (talk) 03:38, 17 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]