The Rolling Stone Conflict with Fact Checking
Blog 4- Laura Szymanski
Situation Definition
Rape culture in society had been circulating in popular topics considering fraternity scandals that have been occurring more rapidly. The Rolling Stone recently published an article concerning a woman who was raped on campus. However, there was a lack of fact checking in the editing field. The women who have been raped could lose credibility and the men that did this could have been shamed for life.
The Rolling Stone arguably saw this as too good a story to pass up and published without checking the woman’s story. Sabrina Rubin Erdely, the editor for The Rolling Stone, failed to follow her ethical, journalistic skills. Erdely failed to check other sources from The University of Virginia in Jackie’s story including the alleged rapists or the fraternity itself this seemingly occurred at. Erdely showed complete disregard for her gut emotions even when hearing the story. Even when she was able to see that there could be holes in this story.
Analysis
Erdely confessed to interviewing Jackie at least seven more times however this doesn’t make her story any more credible. She is at fault for not creating more sources to rely on. She lacked the interest in getting the best story she could. It is clear Erdely only seem to care about getting a story that would get attention and create fame for herself rather than be a responsible journalist. She had disregard to contact other sources or just didn’t care enough to check her story. When a reporter goes out to find a story their first obligation is to find sources that are reliable, accessible, able to communicate and above all credible (Dunwoody, Ryan 1987).
When Erdely conducted this interview, then showed no interest in fact checking Jackie’s story she offended every person who was in this fraternity and the women who have actually been raped. It takes away their credibility and continues to portray fraternities in a negative spotlight. When Erdely failed to check the credibility of her source she altered the outcome of the perception of the message to the audience and the information they took away from it (2012).
In light of not getting other sources Erdely destroyed her own reputation and could have destroyed many others. The fraternity this occurred at could have been shamed without reason and the women in the country who have been raped seem less credible. Erdely could’ve done a better job even getting the story from Jackie who couldn’t remembering her initial attacker’s name. If Erdely had followed through with her ethics to receive more sources than the main one, this conflict could have been avoided.
Conclusion
After watching Erdely destroy not only her own career but the entire reputation of The Rolling Stone. As a future journalist I will make sure not to forget about the basics. No matter how big a story you may have in your hands, it could potentially be a false story and it may turn out to be nothing. I think it’s always best to exhaust all possible leads and sources. If not, then it doesn’t really matter how good of a journalist you are for getting this story. It’s always ideal to look back into the code of ethics and follow your instinct to get an accurate, credible source and story.
References
Social Recommendation, Source Credibility and Recency: Effects of News Cues in a Social Bookmarking Website. , 1-35. (2012). Retrieved from Communications and Mass Media Complete.
Dunwoody, S., & Ryan, M. (1987). The Credible Scientific Source, 64(1), 7-7. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.