So, Mr Hari has admitted to his crimes, and is slinking away for retraining training in journalism. I’ve made no secret of that fact that I think his behaviour fell well below the standards we should expect of journalists, and that too many journalists gave him an easy ride because many of his articles pandered to their political prejudices. The fact he created a sock puppet identity to attack his critics online pushes him into the category of juvenile troll. But that’s just one man’s opinion.
Here’s some other opinions for you to chew on:
- Fleet Street Fox offers to give him [a good old-fashioned journalism education](http://www.fleetstreetfox.com/2011/09/youre-hari-laugh.html) – and doesn’t think he’d last the day.
- Andrew Sullivan plays down his offences and [hopes for his rapid return](http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/09/johann-hari-apologizes.html).
- A WannabeHack points out what [a kick in the teeth this is for unemployed journalism graduates](http://wannabehacks.co.uk/2011/09/emma-greatorex-the-result-of-johann-hari's-apology-is-a-kick-in-the-teeth-for-student-journalists/)
- Guido Fawkes [contrasts the Indy’s reaction now to a previous situation](http://order-order.com/2011/09/15/flashback%C2%A0the-papers-reputation-in-tatters/) with some parallels
- An Economist blogger finds it [depressing and a poor reflection on British journalism](http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2011/09/unethical-journalism?fsrc=rss)
- Christina Odone thinks that the [punishment does not match the crime](http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodone/100105146/johann-hari-hounded-me-for-years-all-he-gets-is-four-months-unpaid-holiday-from-the-independent-but-the-truth-will-come-out/)
- Dave Mascord has [a round-up of other comments](http://journalismlearning.blogspot.com/2011/09/johann-hari-apology-brief-round-up-of.html)
I imagine this discussion will start over again once he returns to work, too. Trolling and sock puppetry are hard habits to give up…