Plagiarizing, fabricating and quote doctoring are all big mistakes in the world of journalism. However, in the past year, big-name reporters at big-name papers have put the credibility of the news media on the line by making those mistakes.

Between Jayson Blair, formerly of The New York Times, and Jack Kelley, formerly of USA Today, the reputation of the news media has been called into question. Both resigned after charges of fabrication were brought against them.

Bill Mahon, university spokesman, said that despite these cases of credibility in the newspaper industry, the readership program at Penn State continues to flourish, implying that many in the Penn State community still read the newspaper on a daily basis.

Mahon said many newspapers, such as The New York Times and USA Today, have begun discovering issues of credibility within their own organizations by spending time and money on internal investigations of possible problems.

"They weren't shy about renouncing the problem on their front pages. I think people give newspapers credit for doing that," Mahon said.

According to statistics concerning the readership program in 2003, 25 percent of faculty who required their students to read a newspaper specified The New York Times, while 10 percent required USA Today. Additionally, 42 percent indicated that newspapers were their preferred source of news.

Mary Flannery, senior editor of newsroom initiatives for The Philadelphia Inquirer, said Blair's escapades have served more of a lesson for the print news industry than the general public.

"TV and, to a certain degree, radio -- they kind of have a narrow focus because they report on stories you can see or hear. I think those trend stories are the ones where the public says you're misinterpreting the facts," she said.

Russ Eshleman, senior lecturer in communications, said the industry has suffered from the actions of Blair and Kelly, but people will ultimately turn to newspapers for solid information.

"There's always going to be part of the public that says 'I can't trust the media.' And sometimes I think that gets fueled by the shouting heads on television [talk show hosts]," he said.

"I think that people know that during crunch time, they can count on newspapers to tell the truth and details they need."

Ashley McNulty(freshman-physics) said she also believes newspapers are a credible source, and she has not heard many people discussing the issue.

"It's definitely still the first place I go [for information]," she said.

Eshleman added that newspapers provide extra background information and details that television stations cannot provide in 30-second sound bites.

"I think a good example of that is if you go back to Sept. 12, you couldn't find a newspaper on campus. And the reason you couldn't find one is because people wanted to find out what happened. People wanted to see it in black and white," he said.

However, editors are still taking precautions when it comes to their reporters.

Flannery, who served as the business editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer for the past three years, said she specifically took precautions with her staff to ensure the credibility of the section.

"Within the past year, I had specific conversations with each editor (deputy editors on the business staff) to make sure what they were turning in is accurate," she said. "They in turn spoke to the reporters and did do verifying."

At Penn State, all journalism majors are required to take a course in news media ethics to fulfill major requirements. Additionally, professors talk about the issues of credibility and ethics in other journalism classes as well. Eshleman, who currently teaches beginning and advanced news reporting for the College of Communications, said he takes one or two class periods to specifically focus on issues of credibility and ethics.

"Journalism majors are required to take journalism ethics, so these types of issues are drilled into them in those classes. If you blow that credibility, people won't buy papers," he said.