Sometimes, there are distinct advantages to being a semi-clueless media type amidst a sea of far savvier folk -- attending the events that those unwilling to get up early can't, or won't. Or sitting at the table closest to the stage and passing the tray of bagels or coffee cream to the pleasant-looking elderly gentleman to your left, not thinking much of it because you're too busy making small talk with the gentleman on your right, until one of the event handlers shows up and says, "Don, want to get the panel started?"

And thus, in domino fashion, Don Hewitt went on stage, followed by Andrea Peyser (sitting next to him) while The Smoking Gun's Joseph Jesselli (sitting next to her) cheered on Bill Bastone. And that's about as far as I'll get on the identification front, because once the panel -- which also included Sir Harry Evans, WaPo's Richard Cohen, with Time's Jim Kelly moderating -- began, so did the entertainment. The full report follows after the jump.

When something is titled "Journalism 101: True or False" the subject could range from vague to extremely narrow, but as soon as Court TV's Henry Schleiff got the ball rolling, the angle was set. Yes, even a month later, the talk still centered around James Frey and how "this book raises so many larger & more important issues." What are the boundaries between information and entertainment? And does the public even care?

After a bit of an oops where Jim Kelly briefly forgot to introduce Bill Bastone (who switched the placecards??) the moderator began by asking Bastone -- inexplicably dubbed "the Magaret Mitchell of the story" -- how his now-infamous expose came to be (long story short: emailed tip in November about getting Frey's mugshot, and the rest is history.) But did Bastone have any idea the story would hit so big? Yes and no. The Oprah connection gave TSG some indication the story would hit, but that it's stayed so long and spun into so many directions was more surprising.

Richard Cohen was next up for questioning, and after reiterating what a "wonderful woman" Oprah was (as he joked that he had another 4 appearances scheduled) he gave some context on his role in the January 26 show, and whether he'd seen Frey before or after. Essentially, he said, "we were treated like fighters in different dressing rooms," where Frey and his handlers got one, and he and Frank Rich were put in another. Cohen had seen Frey at the hotel right before going to the studio, managing a quick introduction before Frey mumbled his hello and turned away. He seemed "depressed," and Cohen believed the author knew what was coming. Nan Talese, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any idea (borne out by her comments in last week's Observer piece by Sheelah Kolhatkar.)

And then it was Sir Harry's turn. "It's ridiculous for publishers to have fact-checkers," he asserted, going further that most of the controversy post-Frey was "a lot of nonsense." At Random House -- where he served as publisher for seven years, he published a great many books and it would have been impossible to keep track. Besides, what about books of an earlier time, like Casanova's memoirs? Did he really sleep with as many women as he claimed? "If anything, Oprah was much more guilty not to do some elementary checking," Evans said, though he did concede that a disclaimer might have helped.

But Kelly wasn't finished: if Scooter Libby's memoirs were up for bid, would Evans buy the book? Yes, he said, "and I'd get Richard Cohen to fact check!"

Peyser's spiel focused on the other main question: does it really matter? She told the story of how her sister brought the book into her house at the height of the controversy, and Peyser commented "oh it's the fake memoir," to a blank response. Don Hewitt heartily agreed, making the point that the biggest bestseller of all time -- a little something called the Bible -- had never been factchecked!

Kelly was more interested in asking Hewitt about TV-related scandals (like Mary Mapes/Dan Rather at CBS and April Oliver at CNN.) Would Hewitt have fired Rather? After some hesitation, the 60 minutes producer finally said yes, then added that agenda is something to consider here, because would CBS have been more careful if John Kerry had been the story?

Cohen disagreed, saying that most of the journalists he's met "had no agenda, no political association, no morals, no scruples" (to increasing laughter) because all they are after is the story. But he couldn't get over the lack of factchecking in publishing, giving his own book experiences as an example. He finished writing it then waited. When asked why, he said "I'm waiting for the factcheckers." But there are none, which shocked him, and he said that most Americans believe that what's in a non-fiction book is true.

That's when Evans started getting punchier about what he views as an "American luxury," saying that no English paper has made use of factchecking in his 25 years in journalism because "English journalists got it right." This started a back-and-forth with Cohen about why publishers can't just hire someone for $40,000 to factcheck (Evans: because the profit margins aren't high enough to support it. Cohen: "So knock it down from 3-4% to 2.9%")

With the debate button pushed, it seemed like a good idea to take questions from the floor. First up was PW Editor-in-Chief Sara Nelson making the point about the differences between narrative non-fiction reporting and memoir, that there are "different levels of fact to check." So Kelly pressed, does that mean James Frey should get a pass. "I will never say that," Nelson insisted. But different levels also came up in the case of Norma Khouri, who had written a memoir on her supposed oppressed life in Jordan when she'd actually left the country at the age of 3 (and the whole hoax exposed by the Sydney Morning Herald's Malcolm Knox) as well JT Leroy.

Close to the end, the bottom line became clear. Hewitt: "If you can't spot a phony, don't be in the business." Bastone agreed: "If A MILLION LITTLE PIECES had been looked at by any city desk in NY, after 15 pages they would have called it 'garbage.'" And in the end, publishing's probably not going to do much to change.