No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. ~Abraham Lincoln

When watching the news or reading an article, the initial shock of an incredible story forces you to believe it is the whole truth. However, as much as I'd love to believe they are always true, sometimes I second guess the complete truth in the story. Like the article "Janet Cooke and Jimmy's World", if it sounds too goo to be true, there is a chance that it could be. Janet Cooke, under pressure, made up a story about a young boy forced to drug addiction. If one woman could make up a lie as large as this, then what makes everyone so sure that someone couldn't do it too?

My reaction to the Jimmy story was very surprised. The fact that someone could make up such a sympathetic story and plan to go through with it until she was forced to confess is mind-blowing because the effect it would have on many people would be devastating. Families with relatives and friends addicted to drugs would have a deep personal connection to the story, and Jimmy's "story" impact them greatly.

I was also surprised by the story "Publisher, editor out over wafer story" on the CBC news web site. Anyone who could come up with such a random and senseless lie would deserve to be caught. Some may find the lie entertaining, like myself, while others who are very spiritual would think strongly about Stephen Harper and whether he was fit to have an opinion in political matters. It would affect his image to the public and government greatly and put an impact on those who once trusted him and valued his opinions.

I agree with journalist Jack Shafer when he says, "most liars make things up for the simple reason that they don't have the talent or the ability to get the story any other way". What I get from this is that if they can not go out and research a story that is good enough to be told, they create one so that it can go just as they'd like. Journalism is very important to the media and informing people what kind of world they are living in, so when universities are training new journalists they should be absolutely certain that they are ready for the position. If not ready, they could be overwhelmed by the responsibility and resort to the easier solutions.

In my opinion, an ombudsman for newspapers is a great idea to make sure everything is fair and not biased in anyway. Someone neutral would create a fair opinion on the issue and eliminate many problems.