Publishing house Simon & Schuster has not pulled a book by former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, even though it contains errors and alleged instances of plagiarism. The book, Merchants of Truth, remains for sale on Amazon and in bookstores around the country.
Abramson acknowledged in a Thursday interview with NPR, “I fell short,” admitting errors and attribution issues in the book, which tracks trends in news businesses.
“In several of these cases the language is too close for comfort,” Abramson told NPR, saying, “I will do everything within my power to correct anything that is imperfect in my book.”
The publisher, as well as U.K. publishing imprint Bodley Head, did not respond to request for comment on the fate of already printed books.
Abramson’s trouble began earlier this week, when Vice News reporter Michael Moynihan posted on Twitter a series of six side-by-side passages allegedly appropriated from other sources. Moynihan also alleged factual errors. Abramson has vowed to correct the book’s errors and alleged instances of plagiarism.
Despite the uncorrected copies sitting on the shelves, Abramson will forge ahead with a national book tour.
Abramson confirmed to the Washington Examiner she will promote the book Wednesday at the Newseum, a Washington institution pilloried as “journalism’s monument to itself.” CNN media journalist Brian Stelter is scheduled to moderate.
Newseum spokesman Sonya Gavankar confirmed the event, which is free but requires registration, is “still on.”
Abramson told the Washington Examiner her book tour includes “many” stops “to many cities.” Her Simon & Schuster publicity agent did not immediately supply a complete list.
As the first female editor of the Times, Abramson led the newspaper from 2011-2014, before she was fired and replaced with Dean Baquet, whom she criticized in the book for presiding over a drift in editorial standards.
