The editor of the biggest-selling US newspaper, USA Today, has resigned, one month after its former star foreign correspondent was unmasked as a serial plagiarist and a fabricator.
"The sad lessons learned by all in this dreadful situation will make USA Today a stronger, better newspaper," Karen Jurgensen said in a resignation statement sent to staffers on Tuesday.
Jurgensen, 55, had been at the newspaper's helm since 1999.
Her resignation followed a public admission by USA Today last month that Pulitzer Prize nominee Jack Kelley had faked major stories, embroidered others with gory details, and appeared to lift portions of stories from other sources without attribution.
"Like all of us who worked with Jack Kelley, I wish we had caught him far sooner than we did," Jurgensen said.
Jurgensen's fate mirrored that of former New York Times editor Howell Raines, who was forced to step down last year after a similar scandal in which former reporter Jayson Blair was exposed as a serial plagiarist.
In the statement to staffers, USA Today publisher Craig Moon said Jurgensen's resignation would help the newspaper to move forward under new leadership. Kelley, 43, resigned in January.
A panel of USA Today journalists reported on March 19 that Kelley had fabricated substantial portions of at least eight major stories, lifted nearly two dozen quotes or other material from competing publications and conspired to mislead those investigating his work.
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