James Frey’s million little lies

I look forward to Oprah’s show where she admitted having been duped by bestselling author James Frey and apologized to her millions of viewers.

I get my Oprah Winfrey show via Starworld which is at least a week delayed and at ABS-CBN’s Channel 23 which airs months-old Oprah.

Meanwhile, I had to rely on the internet for reports about the unmasking of James Frey, author of the supposed non-fiction “A Million Little Pieces” as a master fictionist. The Smoking Gun, an investigative website (www.thesmokinggun.com) provides a comprehensive background on the Frey caper.

Last Oct. 26, James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” was selected for Oprah’s Book of the Month Club. She hailed Frey’s gripping confessional book on his having been an alcoholic, drug addict, and criminal as “like nothing you’ve ever read before.”

As expected, Oprah’s endorsement turned “A Million Little Pieces” into a best seller (more than 3.5 million copies sold). Inspired by the success, Frey had a sequel, “My Friend Leonard”, which also became a bestseller, thanks to Oprah, The Smoking Gun said.

In that Oct. 26 show, the 36-year old author said, “I was a bad guy. If I was gonna write a book that was true, and I was gonna write a book that was honest, then I was gonna have to write about myself in very, very negative ways.”

TSG’s six-week investigation revealed that police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources showed Frey “wholly fabricated or wildly embellished details of his purported criminal career, jail terms, and status as an outlaw.”

TSG said Frey also invented a role for himself in a deadly train accident that cost the lives of two female high school students.

Last week, Frey returned to the Oprah Winfrey Show where Oprah raked him for lying to her and to the world. “I really feel duped. But more importantly I feel that you betrayed millions of readers.”

When Frey’s publisher, Nan Talese said, “Yes, the whole situation is very sad,” Oprah added, “It is not a sad situation for me, it is embarrassing; embarrassing and disappointing.”

Oprah’s ” precision smackdown of Frey and his editor”, as described by Amy Alexander, in her MSNBC commentary, was a relief to many of Oprah’s admirers who were torn by her defense of Frey in the Jan. 11 episode of Larry King Live.

Oprah, one of the most influential women in America and beyond, called up during Larry King’s interview of Frey and dismissed the brewing controversy about the truthfulness of the book as “much ado about nothing.”

She also said: “What is relevant is that he was a drug addict … and stepped out of that history to be the man he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves.”

In last week’s interview with Frey, Oprah made her own mea culpa: “I left the impression that the truth doesn’t matter, and for that I am deeply sorry. That is not what I believe….and to those who challenged me, you were absolutely right.”

It is reported that some booksellers will move “A Million Little Pieces” from the Non-fiction section to Fiction, where it should really belong. The New York Times influential bestseller list has a disappointing reaction. NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd said “The Times will simply indicate that will Mr. Frey has admitted fabricating parts of the book.”

I was attracted to the James Frey story because as a journalist, I have seen journalism assaulted by members of the profession who would not allow truth to get in the way of a dramatic headline story.

Many times, I am amazed by reporters who get the details of their story by just looking up at the press room’s ceiling.

Every year, a number of outstanding investigative pieces are recognized in the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism. If a TSG would examine closely the finalists in the JVO Awards, I’m sure they’ll find out that a number of the finalists should have been more appropriate for the Palanca Literature Awards.