Michael Finkel

In 1990 Finkel took a job with ''Skiing'' magazine, and wrote about sports for ''Sports Illustrated'' and ''National Geographic Adventure.'' He later worked for ''The New York Times Magazine.''https://www.michaelfinkel.com/about/

In 1990 Finkel took a job with ''Skiing'' magazine, and wrote about sports for ''Sports Illustrated'' and ''National Geographic Adventure.'' He later worked for ''The New York Times Magazine.''https://www.michaelfinkel.com/about/

Finkel was a writer for ''[[The New York Times]]'' until 2002, when he was discovered to have created a composite protagonist for a story on the [[Slavery in contemporary Africa|slave trade within Africa]].{{cite news |last=Finkel |first=Michael |date=November 18, 2001 |title=Is Youssouf Malé A Slave? with Editors' Note |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/magazine/is-youssouf-male-a-slave.html |url-access=registration |access-date=April 18, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times}} The story published in 2001 and titled "Is Youssouf Malé A Slave?" purported to profile an adolescent West African boy, Youssouf Malé, who had sold himself into slavery on a cocoa plantation in the Ivory Coast. The story as published included photographs, including one described as being that of Malé. However, after publication, an official from [[Save the Children]] contacted Finkel to say that the boy pictured was not Malé. Upon questioning by his editors, Finkel admitted that the boy profiled in the article was a composite of several boys he had interviewed, including one named Youssouf Malé.{{cite news |date=February 21, 2002 |title=Editor's Note |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/21/nyregion/editors-note-731463.html |access-date=March 12, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Finkel was subsequently fired.{{cite news |last=Wiegand |first=David |date=June 11, 2005 |title=After getting fired by the New York Times for lying in print, a reporter stumbled on the story of his life |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/After-getting-fired-by-the-New-York-Times-for-2451380.php |access-date=April 14, 2015 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}} Initially, Finkel had pitched a story about child slavery to ''The New York Times'', but his reporting did not uncover proof of enslavement. Instead, he encountered teenagers working for meager wages in difficult conditions,{{cite web |last=Salmon |first=Felix |date=February 27, 2002 |title=Michael Finkel and the New York Times Magazine |url=http://www.felixsalmon.com/2002/02/michael-finkel-and-the-new-york-times-magazine |website=FelixSalmon.com |access-date=March 12, 2016}} leading him to create the composite character to fit the narrative he had proposed.

Finkel was a writer for ''[[The New York Times]]'' until 2002, when he was discovered to have created a composite protagonist for a story on the [[Slavery in contemporary Africa|slave trade within Africa]].{{cite news |last=Finkel |first=Michael |date=November 18, 2001 |title=Is Youssouf Malé A Slave? with Editors' Note |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/magazine/is-youssouf-male-a-slave.html |url-access=registration |access-date=April 18, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times}} The story was published in 2001 and was titled "Is Youssouf Malé A Slave?" purported to profile an adolescent West African boy, Youssouf Malé, who had sold himself into slavery on a cocoa plantation in the Ivory Coast. The story as published included photographs, including one described as being that of Malé. However, after publication, an official from [[Save the Children]] contacted Finkel to say that the boy pictured was not Malé. Upon questioning by his editors, Finkel admitted that the boy profiled in the article was a composite of several boys he had interviewed, including one named Youssouf Malé.{{cite news |date=February 21, 2002 |title=Editor's Note |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/21/nyregion/editors-note-731463.html |access-date=March 12, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Finkel was subsequently fired.{{cite news |last=Wiegand |first=David |date=June 11, 2005 |title=After getting fired by the New York Times for lying in print, a reporter stumbled on the story of his life |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/After-getting-fired-by-the-New-York-Times-for-2451380.php |access-date=April 14, 2015 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}} Initially, Finkel had pitched a story about child slavery to ''The New York Times'', but his reporting did not uncover proof of enslavement. Instead, he encountered teenagers working for meager wages in difficult conditions,{{cite web |last=Salmon |first=Felix |date=February 27, 2002 |title=Michael Finkel and the New York Times Magazine |url=http://www.felixsalmon.com/2002/02/michael-finkel-and-the-new-york-times-magazine |website=FelixSalmon.com |access-date=March 12, 2016}} leading him to create the composite character to fit the narrative he had proposed.

After his dismissal from ''The New York Times'', Finkel learned that [[Christian Longo]], an Oregon man who murdered his wife and three children in December 2001, had used "Michael Finkel" as an alias during his several weeks as a fugitive. After Longo's capture the next month, Finkel communicated with him. Finkel says that, before the trial, Longo had hoped the journalist would bring out "the real story" to help him win acquittal; after his conviction, Longo gave Finkel interviews admitting his guilt. Finkel wrote a memoir about their relationship, ''True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa'' (2005).{{cite book |title=True Story |last=Finkel |first=Michael |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/361148.True_Story |date=May 24, 2005 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=9780060580476}}

After his dismissal from ''The New York Times'', Finkel learned that [[Christian Longo]], an Oregon man who murdered his wife and three children in December 2001, had used "Michael Finkel" as an alias during his several weeks as a fugitive. After Longo's capture the next month, Finkel communicated with him. Finkel says that, before the trial, Longo had hoped the journalist would bring out "the real story" to help him win acquittal; after his conviction, Longo gave Finkel interviews admitting his guilt. Finkel wrote a memoir about their relationship, ''True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa'' (2005).{{cite book |title=True Story |last=Finkel |first=Michael |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/361148.True_Story |date=May 24, 2005 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=9780060580476}}