Rolling Stone Magazine Scandal

[BigRedBuster]

This issue really interests me due to the fact I still believe the "news" media in this country is much more dangerous than any politician or political group.

 

LINK

 

This is an example of a "reporter" wanting a story to be true so bad so they can break a huge story that they don't care really about the facts.

 

This happens so often with issues like sexual abuse, racism, sexism, environmentalism, economics...etc. Someone wants to make a point in an article so they take a little bit of information, run with it so they can be the hero in breaking the news.

 

This quote from the article tells so much.

 

A source who tells a detailed, dramatic, and fictional story is a reporter's worst nightmare. Rolling Stone put a huge amount of trust in Jackie, assuming she had no reason to lie, and acted as if questioning her story in any way would be unseemly.

 

The magazine trusted Jackie so much that they did not check her story with the friends who saw her the night she said she was raped. They trusted her enough to give her alleged rapist a pseudonym without ever knowing his real name or going to much effort to find it out.

 

The part in this quote that amazes me is that they assume someone like this has no reason to lie.

 

What kind of decent reporter believes someone's horrible story due to "assuming they have no reason to lie".

 

We need to fix our news media in this country. Problem is, as long as people gobble up this type of reporting, it will go on and on and on....

[NUance]

Wow. Hard to believe Rolling Stone could run a story like that that totally destroyed a college organization while virtually doing no fact-checking at all of the alleged victim's story. I mean, how long would it take to make a few phone calls and dig around a bit? Kinda makes you wonder about the accuracy of their other stories as well.

[BigRedBuster]

I would support this.

 

Steven M. Sipple retweeted

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 12m12 minutes ago

UVA frat to pursue legal action against Rolling Stone http://huff.to/1MZ8RNv

[teachercd]

I read this article when if first came out...it seemed SOOOOOO made up, like, it read like it was a Lifetime Movie...I could basically picture Billy Zabka (of Karate Kid fame) playing the rich white snobby frat guy that lured the innocent "Jennifer Lawrence" into the dark scary frat bedroom while all of Billy Zabkas polo wearing, Izod dressed, boat shoes, vodka breathed buddies were waiting.

 

 

Ohhhh wait...maybe James Spader would be better in the lead role of the bad guy.

[Dbqgolfer]

This is so bad/sad on two levels. First and obvious, horrible for the Frat.

 

Second, this will make a true victim of sexual assault on campus either less likely to be believed, or less likely to come forward. This reporter/Rolling Stones did great damage to a cause that they felt they were trying to help. Note to reporters, truth and fact finding usually a good policy.