Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Daily News, Village Voice Writer Caught In Fabrication Scandal
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 7, 2011
Modified Jan 7, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 7, 2011
Modified Jan 7, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A Daily News education reporter was fired today after it was revealed that he fabricated a freelance story he wrote for the Village Voice. Rob Sgobbo, a 2010 graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, was caught in the Jayson Blair-like scandal, and has since had his stories removed from places such as the News, Voice and Huffington Post.
According to Voice editor Tony Ortega, he allegedly "invented a character, 'Tamicka Bourges,' who claimed she had amassed a large debt at Berkeley College without obtaining a degree" in a story about for-profit "proprietary" colleges (you can see the cached story here). Berkeley College contacted the Voice to deny a spokeswoman quoted in the story had spoken to Sgobbo—and to say that Tamicka Bourges was not a student at the school.
Business Insider reports that Sgobbo was a top honor student who received the "Hechinger award for education journalism" last year. One former classmate recounted Sgobbo's popularity and abilities in the Boston Globe, while another former classmate told BI, "he honestly always did seem somewhat cocky about how easy it was for him to find good sources, but this is like, really brazen."
Tagged
daily news
fabrication
jayson blair
journalism
media
rob sgobbo
tamicka bourges
village voice
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY progressives have found a way to vote for Hochul, with an asterisk
Progressives are following Mayor Mamdani’s lead and voting for Gov. Hochul, a moderate Democrat, on the Working Families Party ballot line.
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Oct 30, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
Can you eat the mushrooms growing out of your bathroom ceiling?
Coprinellus domesticus is a common home mushroom that moves into leaky city apartments.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Can you eat the mushrooms growing out of your bathroom ceiling?
Coprinellus domesticus is a common home mushroom that moves into leaky city apartments.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bronx community hosts vigil for boy killed in e-bike fire
By
Carol Chen
8 people charged in $7M SNAP benefit fraud scheme
By
Giulia Heyward
California man was shot by a NJ detective in Moonachie, officials say
By
Kaya Laterman
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .