Ruth Shalit
Encyclopedia
Ruth Shalit is a freelance writer and former journalist, dismissed from The New Republic
for plagiarism
and inaccuracy.
in 1992. Early in her career she wrote for GQ and the New York Times Magazine before becoming an associate editor for The New Republic
at the age of 24.
. Shalit admitted to "major errors" in the article, such as an assertion that a DC contractor who'd never been indicted had served a prison sentence for corruption; misquoting a number of Post staffers; and numerous factual errors, such as mistakenly claiming that certain jobs at The Post were reserved for black employees. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/alt1/archive/news/quote/RUTH_SHALIT.html
Shortly after the piece appeared, it was discovered that several other Shalit articles had copied several nearly verbatim passages from other writers' stories. Shalit blamed sloppy computer habits—accidentally splicing together published stories with her own notes—for the incidents. Nevertheless, Shalit was fired from the New Republic for plagiarism.
After leaving journalism, she took a job at Mad Dogs and Englishmen, a New York advertising agency. She then wrote about advertising for Salon
magazine and Elle
magazine. At Salon she also was again accused of inaccuracies, and Salon corrected seven errors in her article "The Name Game." Similarly, Shalit's article in Elle entitled "Girl Crazy" was pulled from the Elle website due to inaccuracies and a threatened lawsuit for defamation. Her article, "A Star Is Born," highlighted the illegalities committed by former U.S.Senator Carol Moseley Braun
and her then fiancee, Kgosie Matthews, who worked illegally in the US while on a student visa.
. She married film producer Robertson Barrett in September 2004, becoming the stepdaughter-in-law of Edward Klein
. She now lives in Los Angeles.
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
for plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
and inaccuracy.
Education
Shalit graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1992. Early in her career she wrote for GQ and the New York Times Magazine before becoming an associate editor for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
at the age of 24.
Publication
Shalit's reporting first brought controversy in the fall of 1995, after she wrote a 13,000-word piece about the growing backlash against affirmative action at The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. Shalit admitted to "major errors" in the article, such as an assertion that a DC contractor who'd never been indicted had served a prison sentence for corruption; misquoting a number of Post staffers; and numerous factual errors, such as mistakenly claiming that certain jobs at The Post were reserved for black employees. http://www.bostonphoenix.com/alt1/archive/news/quote/RUTH_SHALIT.html
Shortly after the piece appeared, it was discovered that several other Shalit articles had copied several nearly verbatim passages from other writers' stories. Shalit blamed sloppy computer habits—accidentally splicing together published stories with her own notes—for the incidents. Nevertheless, Shalit was fired from the New Republic for plagiarism.
After leaving journalism, she took a job at Mad Dogs and Englishmen, a New York advertising agency. She then wrote about advertising for Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
magazine and Elle
Elle
Elle may refer to:*Elle, Central African Republic*Elle , a fashion publication*Ellé, a river in France*Elle , a female given name*Elle , a Sri Lankan game similar to baseball*Ælle of Sussex, a Saxon king...
magazine. At Salon she also was again accused of inaccuracies, and Salon corrected seven errors in her article "The Name Game." Similarly, Shalit's article in Elle entitled "Girl Crazy" was pulled from the Elle website due to inaccuracies and a threatened lawsuit for defamation. Her article, "A Star Is Born," highlighted the illegalities committed by former U.S.Senator Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun is an American feminist politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. She was the first and to date only African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator in an...
and her then fiancee, Kgosie Matthews, who worked illegally in the US while on a student visa.
Personal life
Ruth Shalit is the sister of author Wendy ShalitWendy Shalit
Wendy Shalit is an American author who has written two books— A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue, published by Free Press in 1999 and Girls Gone Mild: Young Rebels Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good, published by Random House in 2007.Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,...
. She married film producer Robertson Barrett in September 2004, becoming the stepdaughter-in-law of Edward Klein
Edward Klein
Edward Klein is a bestselling nonfiction author who has written about the Kennedys and Hillary Clinton.Klein is the former foreign editor of Newsweek and former editor in chief of The New York Times Magazine. He frequently contributes to Vanity Fair and Parade; he has a weekly column in Parade...
. She now lives in Los Angeles.