Once I had a better beat, I needed to have an even better one. And somewhere in that climbing, I lost sight of, sort of, my moral and ethical underpinnings.

It's hard to say what role race really played in my case.

It's very painful to have something that's not true written about you.

I used to walk around saying that I'm just another black man without a college degree.

I believe my own demons would have caught up with me regardless of my race and regardless of whether I worked at 'The Times.

I think people can learn from my experience - you know, any young people who are under pressure, whether you work on Wall Street or you work in a factory in Alabama, and young journalists.

I have lived a life that has been beautiful and painful at some moments. But I am convinced others can learn how to control a certain kind of rage that bubbles up in many Americans, particularly, but not limited to, women, blacks, and other minorities.