The fracas Friday involving monologuist Mike Daisey and the public radio show "This American Life" is not just the latest scandal of a purported truth teller caught in at least an act of embellishment, if not an outright lie, but a double-barreled cautionary tale. It reveals the perils of what can happen to news organizations when, in the pursuit of populist storytelling or buzz-heavy names, they subcontract their reporting to artists or entertainers.