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Media
Journalist resigns after admitting to inventing Bob Dylan quotes
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 1 August 2012
New Yorker magazine staff writer John Lehrer has resigned after admitting that he invented quotes by Bob Dylan in his book, ‘Imagine: How Creativity Works’.
In a statement, reports The Guardian, Lehrer said he had decided to come clean after another writer, Michael Moynihan, challenged him on the origins of the quotes. He said: “The quotes in question either did not exist, were unintentional misquotations, or represented improper combinations of previously existing quotes. But I told Mr Moynihan that they were from archival interview footage provided to me by Dylan’s representatives. This was a lie spoken in a moment of panic. When Mr Moynihan followed up, I continued to lie, and say things I should not have said”.
Discussing Lehrer’s resignation, New Yorker editor, David Remnick said: “This is a terrifically sad situation but, in the end, what is most important is the integrity of what we publish and what we stand for”.
