Ol' man Cam

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 15:03:14 -0800

This just re-enforces what I've already believed, Harmon Leon is a dishonest journalist. If somebody is dishonest in one regard, chances are they are dishonest in many regards. Three cheers for SF Weekly. Hip Hip...Hooray; Hip Hip...Hooray; Hip Hip Hooray. Perhaps this is some sort of "Karmic Retribution" Naw, he's just probably just a douche bag.

Anonymous

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:55:18 -0800

Sympathy for Harmon Leon? Let's see if we got this right. The man turns in an article saying he attended the AVN Awards. Then, when readers realize the the writing doesn't reflect what actually happened at the AVN Awards (see the pre-Weekly-retraction readers to caught this at Fleshbot.com and TooBeautiful.org), and the Weekly calls Harmon on it, only then does he admit that, oops, it wasn't the AVN Awards in Vegas but another awards show in Los Angeles. OH, and OOPS, I didn't actually go this year, but several years ago. OH, and OOPS, I didn't actually write this for you, but am reselling you an article that ran in another publication several years ago. AND YOU SYMPATHIZE WITH HARMON? There can be little doubt that the editorial fact-checking process at the Weekly was severely deficient, but it is clear that they were being deceived by the writer. This isn't just a "copy editor" mistake. This is a major league Jayson Blair situation and Harmon Leon is BUSTED. I've always found his quotes to be a little to convenient and his situations a little too scripted to be real, but now this proves it: He's full of CRAP. Oh, and one more thing SF Weekly: Put a researcher on the Google and you'll see that this wasn't the ONLY Harmon Leon article that ran in the Weekly that had previously run in other magazines. I just can't believe it took them this long to figure it out. And if you STILL sympathize with Harmon Leon, I ask you this: Did Harmon contact the SF Weekly after the article ran to tell them that they had misprinted his story? Certainly he must've seen it, as it was prominent in the magazine. My guess is that - no - if readers hadn't brought this to the attention of SF Weekly's editorial staff, Harmon would have said nothing and the article would have stood. Again, this shows big problems with the editors at the Weekly, but again, they were decieved in a situation where they had every reason to trust one of their most high-profile writers... and he screwed them with bogus copy and a falsified story. He deserved to be fired. PERIOD.

dave

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 23:19:30 -0800

I don't know, but I've always assumed Harmon's pieces were extremely exaggerated - actually, I assumed they were completely fictionalized. Nonetheless, even as fiction, they were mildly entertaining, in a sophmoric attempt at faux gonzo journalism kind of way.

SFist: Did the SF Weekly Scapegoat Harmon Leon?

Ol' man Cam

Anonymous

dave