Canceled: Jonah Lehrer’s Future Gigs
Earlier this week, best-selling author and former New Yorker staff writer Jonah Lehrer gave the opening keynote address at MPI’s World Education Congress in which he talked about the ways creative success is realized. The next day, Lehrer resigned from his coveted staff position at the New Yorker after he admitted to fabricating quotes by singer Bob Dylan in his new book “Imagine.” The publisher has recalled unsold print copies of the book and suspended the sale of e-books, and it now appears that the journalist is losing future speaking engagements as well.
Lehrer was scheduled to speak at a lecture on Monday, Aug. 22, at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., as part of a series of lectures on ethics. It’s been canceled. “We felt that, given everything that is transpiring, this is not exactly something we would move forward with, given the fact that this fund is to fund lectures in ethics,” said Mark Blackmon, the school’s public affairs officer, in a Forbes story. In addition, Lehrer will not speak at the upcoming Holmes Report’s Global Public Relations Summit in October or at an event at Iowa State University’s College of Engineering. Other upcoming events that Lehrer could be cut from include the Paragon Development Systems 2012 Tech Conference in Milwaukee on Sept. 19 and the International Interior Design Association 2012 Leaders Breakfast in Los Angeles on Sept. 21.
News about the scandal broke during MPI’s WEC, and it spread quickly on Twitter. Leaders quickly addressed the issue and admitted what happened during a members-only session. They also told members of the media about the scandal during a press conference.
Photos courtesy of Avdeev Max and poptech.
