A new documentary, A Fragile Trust, is set to air on PBS. It will revisit the Jayson Blair scandal of 2003, in which the young reporter was found to have been plagiarizing and fabricating stories for The New York Times.

Macarena Hernandez, former reporter at The San Antonio-Express News, is interviewed by director Samantha Grant in the film. Hernandez became involved in the scandal when it was discovered that Jayson Blair had plagiarized one of her stories.

Hernandez, who had previously worked with Blair as an intern at The New York Times, was shocked to discover what he had been getting away with. The scandal caused people to reexamine their trust of the media and journalism.

"The general public thinks that the press is very sinister and that we make up stuff," said Hernandez to La Prensa. "It is amazing how prevalent that distrust of the press is. I think the lapse of journalistic integrity, like Jayson is not the norm."

Jayson Blair, who was also interviewed in the film, blamed his substance abuse and personal troubles for his actions. However, the media made his race a prominent issue, blaming affirmative action of Blair's position of power at the New York Times.

"It was unfortunate that the media made the story about his race, because this was a troubled guy," said Hernandez, who lamented the effect the scandal had on minority reporters looking to pursue a career in journalism. "We still struggle to have diverse newsrooms, and the (Blair scandal) first made me consider leaving the newsroom."

Director Samantha Grant made the film partly because she was eager to expose the myth that Jayson Blair was representative of the corrupt state of modern day journalism.

"Long-term consequences were that the public's faith in the media was even more deeply shaken," Grant said. "Jayson gave the public another icon to hold up (albeit incorrectly) of everything wrong with journalism. Jayson Blair is not an example of everything wrong with journalism. He's an individual and this was an individual case."

A Fragile Trust will premiere on PBS on May 5, 2014.