Rolling Stone admitted it erred in reporting a woman’s story that she was gang-raped at a University of Virginia fraternity but in its apology first placed blame on the source then later said the reporter should not have agreed at the request of the woman, only identified as “Jackie,” to not contact her alleged attackers to validate the story. In their investigation, the Post was unable to confirm many details of the woman’s account. (The Washington Post, December 5, 2014, by T. Rees Shapiro)
In The New Yorker, December 7, 2014, Margaret Talbot writes that the reporter of the November 19 Rolling Stone article, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, failed badly in investigating the serious allegations in the story and that that failure dealt a serious blow to responsible journalism. “Erdely probably also shared the point of view of the many victims’ advocates who argue that when people say they have been raped, they, above all others, should be believed. That’s a position that makes moral and emotional sense for advocates and friends of the victim, whose primary role is to comfort and support. But it’s not a position that makes sense for journalists, whose job is to find out what actually happened,” wrote Talbot.
An editorial in the Post, December 5, 2014, expressed the view that there is much work to be done to establish protections against sexual attacks on campuses, “… Sexual assault, often associated with excessive alcohol consumption, is a scourge that, for far too long, has not been taken seriously enough by colleges and universities. The critical work of putting in place a system that effectively and fairly investigates allegations of sexual assaults, supports victims and provides for due process must continue with even more urgency.”
Rolling Stone regrets the decision not to interview the accused men in the fraternity but says they felt that Jackie was credible and in granting her request thought they were making the right decision at that time to spare her further trauma. According to Will Dana, the managing editor, the magazine is planning to do further investigation to find the truth and start the process of resurrecting their reputation. (The New York Times, December 7, 2014, by Ravi Somaiya)