Rolling Stone faces harsh backlash following CJR report
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Sunday brought a lengthy report from the Columbia School of Journalism, pointing out "a systematic failing" pertaining to a Rolling Stone article.
That article, which was published in November, accused members of a University of Virginia fraternity of raping a female student, dubbed Jackie, while she attended a party at the frat house.
As a result of the article, the fraternity was kicked off campus — even though further investigation into the allegations found a number of holes in Jackie's story.
The author behind the piece, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, released a statement following the CJR report. Erdely apologized and explained that she was looking out for Jackie's well-being by not reaching out to the alleged perpetrators in the incident.
But, as Sunday's report points out, there are a number of facets in the reporting process that could have aided in corroborating Jackie's story. For one, the date of the alleged party where Jackie said she was raped.
Post writer T. Rees Shapiro told MSNBC, "Certain details that were reported so far appear to be inconsistent, such as the date of September 28, 2012. The fraternity has said there was no party that night."
Also, Jackie claimed to have been raped by a fraternity member who also worked as a lifeguard at an aquatic center. According to the CJR report, Jackie never asked Erdely not to provide that information to the fraternity. Later investigation showed records indicate the frat didn't have any members who were lifeguards at that aquatic center.
Another aspect of the story are the testimonies of Jackie's friends. Here's what Erdely told Slate in December, "She had actually told her friends who had discouraged her from reporting and had totally downplayed the situation."
According to the CJR report, Erdely failed to get in contact with any of Jackie's friends, who Jackie said would not participate in the Rolling Stone investigation. But CJR did get in contact with Jackie's friends — all three of whom she had supposedly told about the incident. They all denied having said any of what Jackie claimed.
In the report, CJR claimed, "Any one of these and other similar reporting paths might have led to discoveries that would have caused Rolling Stone to reconsider its plans. ... They involve basic, even routine journalistic practice - not special investigative effort. And if these reporting pathways had been followed, Rolling Stone very likely would have avoided trouble."
However, the backlash over the fall out has been fierce, with speculation the misreporting could have a much wider impact.
UVA's president Teresa Sullivan released a scathing statement Sunday, saying in part, "Irresponsible journalism unjustly damaged the reputations of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia. ... Such false depictions reinforce the reluctance sexual assault victims already feel about reporting their experience."
That's a concern many seem to have, as Attorney General of Virginia, Mark Herring, released this similar statement.
Then there's the possible legal repercussions. UVA, as a public institute, cannot file a complaint. The fraternity is a different story.
Danny Cevallos told CNN, "If a group is small enough that defaming the group ... then under that small group theory a defamation case can be had."
"It sounds like they have more than grounds. ... We do as lawyers. ... We corroborate. We go before a jury and we don't rely on one person's word," according to Joey Jackson.
As it stands, Erdely will continue to write for Rolling Stone, as the magazine says it won't punish any of its staff members involved in the story, because there was no evidence that they were deliberately deceptive.
Read more at newsy.com.
