New Times Reporter Filed Over Bullshit Story Los Angeles New Times L.A. freelance writer Antoine Oman has been fired for fabricating a story about teenage rape victims Tamara Brooks and Jackie Marris. Oman, who had a short history with the alternative weekly, was escorted from New Times' offices on Friday afternoon and made no comment. His story, published in last week's issue, claimed that the NBC television network was about to announce that Brooks and Marris had been signed to host a new prime-time reality show produced by an amoral lowlife named Billy Slattery. The program, supposedly slated as a midseason replacement, was to be called Survive This!. According to Oman's story, the show would have pitted teenage contestants against recently paroled predatory sex offenders, all of whom would be released in a remote and wild locale. NBC, however, said that no such show is planned, and that Slattery does not exist. Neither, it turns out, do the other so-called "experts" whom Oman quoted in his story. "This is a dark day for New Times, and it puts a black eye on all of Los Angeles journalism," lamented NT editor Rick Barrs, who has helmed the feisty publication since its 1996 inception. "I can only extend my deepest apologies to the Peacock network, which I should have known would never stoop so low for ratings." For the rest read http://www.newtimesla.com/issues/2002-08-22/faultlines.html/1/index.html http://www.movieactors.com/winm/m76.htm