Update: New York Times Economics Reporter Didn’t Disclose Wife’s Bankruptcies in His Story

Readers of this blog had strong opinions about my May 19th entry concerning New York Times economics reporter Edmund L. Andrews' story, "My Personal Credit Crisis," which ran in the New York Times Magazine a couple of weeks ago. In his engrossing piece, Andrews' describes how he and his wife took out a house mortgage they knew they couldn't afford and recounts the painful repercussions that followed. His story evoked my sympathy, but more than a couple CreditBloggers readers said he got what he deserved.

I'm starting to agree with them, now that it's been revealed that Andrews' wife, Patty Barreiro, declared bankruptcy twice, a fact that Andrews failed to mention. In her Asymmetrical Information blog for The Atlantic, Megan McArdle reported that Barreiro declared bankruptcy once when she was married to her first husband, and a second time while she was married to Andrews. As McArdle points out, there's nothing unusual about a husband wanting to save his wife from embarrassment by concealing this kind of information from the public. However, Andrews presented his story as an open-book account of his and his wife's financial difficulties. His decision not to mention the bankruptcies (from his and the book from which it was excerpted) is rather troubling.

Shortly after McArdle posted her story, Andrews went on PBS to respond indirectly to McArdle's blog post. His excuse is inordinately lengthy, but it can be summed up in the first sentence of the third paragrpah of his response: "These bankruptcies did occur, but they had nothing to do with our mortgage woes." In the comments section of the PBS story, you'll see that some people agree with Andrews, while others aren't buying it. I'm inclined to agree with the latter. What about you?

By the way, if you're falling behind on your credit card or mortgage payments, or are on the verge of bankruptcy, Credit.com offers a range of products and services that can help you.

Mark Frauenfelder – Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular Boing Boing weblog, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online.

Mark Frauenfelder Credit.com contributor, editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular site Boing Boing, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online. He covers creative DIY projects and how-tos that will help you make the most of your money.