Posted on 12/14/2014 12:48:27 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
What do Rolling Stone’s University of Virginia rape article and Senate CIA report have in common? Neither report talked to the accused. However, both also suffer from the same paralyzing component.
Both reports' conclusions were determined before the facts were collected. Although each report touches on vastly different topics, they both expose a lack of unbiased critical thinking necessary for the honest, intellectual presentation of the facts. Both reports are a product of an “end justifies the means” philosophy, where the authors start with a desired conclusion and build the “facts” to support that end. Both reports are a demonstration of the type of parody that has replaced clear, reasoned thinking, weakening the process and feeding the public distrust and apathy.
In November 2014, Rolling Stone columnist Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote a scathing expose titled “Rape on Campus.” Erdely told the story of alleged rape victim Jackie (a pseudonym), who claimed she was gang-raped as a student at the University of Virginia while attending a fraternity party on campus. The story was covered by every major news outlet, which prompted massive protests across the country, the vilification of college-based fraternal organizations, and the questioning of the leadership of the UVA administration.
As a result, all fraternal organizations at UVA were suspended, peoples' reputations were damaged, and there were calls for the UVA president to resign. The sad truth today is that it appears that most, if not all, of the story was false.
We have learned (through reporting by the Washington Post) that Erdely set out looking at Harvard, Yale and other campuses to find a captivating rape story to highlight the belief held by Erdely and Rolling Stone (as well as many others) that rape is an epidemic on our college campuses. Almost immediately the story fell apart. The Post learned the date, time and location did not match up and that Jackie’s friends tell a much different story than the one in the report. The Post learned details about the alleged suspect could not be confirmed or appear to be completely false. The male date Jackie identified as her escort to the party appears to be a person Jackie knew in high school, who has no real connection to Jackie or the campus.
In the end, none of the accusers were interviewed, dates and times were not validated, Jackie’s friends not only contradict many of the “facts,” but also have doubts about the truth of the story. Much like the Duke lacrosse rape case in 2006, all journalistic integrity and discipline were abandoned. Simple elements that would have validated the truthfulness of the story were not explored. Learning nothing from the Duke case, mob rule prevailed and the media again failed its basic obligations. Erdely had drawn her conclusions, and saw only the “facts” she wanted to see.
As with the UVA rape article, the Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) report on the CIA suffers the same fate, a lack of credibility that could have been avoided if basic investigatory practices had been adhered to. Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Kerry stated it best when he wrote that the “partisan torture report fails America.”
The SIC’s report started with the premise that the CIA acted illegally in its treatment of captured terrorists and went about building the case. The report is a biased product of only the Democratic members of the SIC that took more than five years and $40 million to produce. A majority of the labor was conducted by Senate Democrat staffers, not trained investigators. Republicans left early when it was determined their counterparts had already decided the CIA was guilty and then worked to prove it.
The accused were never interviewed – not one. An overwhelming majority of the “evidence” came from CIA emails, memos and transcripts with no context that could have easily been provided by those who sent, received or recorded the information. CIA members did not refuse to participate in the report; they were never invited to testify. SIC never provided any compelling reason for not conducting any interviews. The truth is that basic investigation techniques were abandoned and the byproduct is not worth the paper it was printed on, and comes off as nothing more than a whine.
Lost in all of this is not only the political motivations for releasing the report, but the simple fact far too many people fail to contemplate what we as a nation were dealing with after 9/11. I am not condoning nor condemning methods used by the CIA. However, the report conveniently forgets we were attacked as a nation, and that an overwhelming majority of Americans made one simple request — “keep us safe.” That is what the CIA and many other intelligence/military organizations did.
Each time an entity, such as a media outlet or a government body, sets out to expose a serious issue they believe affects our daily lives, they must do so unencumbered by any biases or preconceived notions. Those who claim to serve the public interest must remember that the trust of the American people is fragile and is not easily regained once it is lost.
Jeff Chidester was raised in Portsmouth and is a lifelong resident of New Hampshire. He is the host of the Clear Channel radio show “New Hampshire Perspective with Jeff Chidester,” which can be heard on News Radio WQSO – 96.7 FM and New Hampshire’s News Network WGIR – 610 AM. E-mail him at nhperspective@gmail.com.
Opinion: Rolling Stone may have crushed anti-rape bill [Margaret Carlson] "CONSIDER U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand among the immediate collateral damage from the apparent unraveling of the Rolling Stone article about an alleged brutal gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity.
The New York Democrat has been leading the congressional fight against college and military sexual assaults. In these closed systems, perpetrator and victim know, or know of, each other, and victims are destroyed twice: first when they are attacked and second when the institution they report it to lets them down........
....The confusion surrounding the Rolling Stone article is further muddying the waters. The University of Virginia's fraternities and sororities are using the holes in the story as exoneration, asking the university to reinstate the Greek system, which has been suspended until Jan. 9.
Even so, UVA President Teresa Sullivan said that her new focus on curbing sexual assault on campus — until now, no one has ever been expelled for an assault — isn't compromised because of the doubts over the victim's account. And UVA, like dozens of other schools, is already under a controversial federal review by the U.S. Department of Education for its handling of sexual assault cases.
There's a debate over whether in a rush to comply with DOE and advocacy groups, schools are adjudicating cases without observing basic due process. Pendulums can swing too far."....
Drugged, sexually abused and trampled on by guards for THREE MONTHS at a time: Guantanamo inmate still in captivity describes his ordeal in harrowing detail "A Guantanamo inmate who has been held in Bay for more than 13 years has given a graphic and harrowing account of his time imprisoned by U.S. authorities.
Samir Naji, a Yemeni who was suspected of being a security guard to Osama bin Laden but never charged with a crime, wrote how he was drugged, sexually abused, beaten and trampled in the notorious prison.
Naji, who was cleared for release five years ago but has yet to be let go, said guards would work in shifts to subject him to brutal, continuous interrogations lasting three months at a time.
In a first-person account published by CNN, Naji told how he would be abused beyond the point of collapse, and prison guards would watch over him in hospital, waiting for the moment he was cleared for release so the process could start again.
The inmate - who insists on his innocence - says his prolonged torture 'achieved nothing', but brought 'shame' on the United States.".....
Liberal group plots to catch GOP state pols being racist and sexist "The leader of a group hoping to improve liberals' fortunes at the state level revealed on Friday plans to start tracking conservative state legislators based on the assumption that "someone’s going to say something about black people" or women....."
Well there’s another difference. Rolling Stone didn’t spend $40 million of taxpayer money making their BS story.
Both should be held accountable.
Rolling Stone gave Sabrina Rubin Erdely a forum (facts or no facts and with past allegations of shoddy work) to advance her progressive agenda.
"Sabrina Rubin Erdely is an American magazine reporter and university journalism instructor. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Erdely has written extensively about persons who have alleged rape and bullying. Currently a freelance journalist, she previously wrote for Philadelphia. Two of her articles on sexual assaults have been criticized for allegedly containing inaccurate or false details and accusations.
Magazine writing
Early work
Erdely's 1996 story for Philadelphia, in which a woman alleged to have been raped by her gynecologist, was nominated for a National Magazine Award. In 2004 Erdely penned an article for the University of Pennsylvania's alumni magazine, the Pennsylvania Gazette, in which she declared disgraced journalist Stephen Glass a "sociopathic creep" for fabricating stories. A 2012 story for Rolling Stone, alleging bullying of gay students in Minnesota, was similarly nominated and went on to receive a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Article. Erdely's 2013 Rolling Stone story "The Rape of Petty Officer Blumer" chronicled the alleged drugging and rape of a U.S. Navy female petty officer by three U.S. Army soldiers.
Rolling Stone article: "The Catholic Church's Secret Sex-Crime Files"
In 2011 Erdely reported a story for Rolling Stone about child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Erdely's story told about a fifth grade altar boy referred to by the pseudonym "Billy Doe" whom "brutal attacks turned ... into a sullen, drug-addicted loner," alleging a "high-level conspiracy." Billy Doe was an adult when he made his accusations, resulting in criminal charges leading to the jailing of three church employees and a major civil suit by Billy Doe against the church.
It was later charged that "Erdely didn't know or bother to find out ... that Billy had already told his story to the archdiocese, police, and a grand jury, and would subsequently retell it to two different juries in two criminal cases. And every time he told his story, the details kept changing."....................................................
It was later reported that, at the time Erdely was covering the Billy Doe story, her husband was a criminal prosecutor for the District Attorney of Philadelphia which was overseeing the case. The Catholic League, meanwhile, denounced what it described as "malicious distortions of the kind found in Erdely’s diatribe." All three church employees maintained their innocence; the conviction of one has since been overturned and a new trial ordered for the one remaining (the third church employee died in prison while appealing his verdict)."... Source
Awards [Sabrina Erdely]
The National Magazine Award (finalist), 2013, for “School of Hate,” Rolling Stone, February 2012.
GLAAD Media Award, 2013, for “School of Hate,” Rolling Stone, February 2012.
Deadline Club Award, 2013, for “School of Hate,” Rolling Stone, February 2012.
Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma (finalist), 2013, for “School of Hate,” Rolling Stone, February 2012.
Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism (runner up), 2013, for “School of Hate,” Rolling Stone, February 2012.
Exceptional Merit In Media Award (EMMA) (finalist), 2012, for “Why I Finally Left,” Good Housekeeping, March 2011.
Exceptional Merit In Media Award (EMMA) (finalist), for “Wide Awake and under the Knife,” SELF, January 2011.
Clarion Award, 2010 for “The Stranger Who Saved Me,” SELF, December 2009.
Exceptional Merit in Media Award (EMMA), 2010, for “The Crime Against Women No One Understands,” SELF, November 2008.
The Association for Health Care Journalists Award (second place), 2008, for “Is Your Doctor Playing Judge?” SELF, February 2007
The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation (finalist), 2008, for “Is Your Doctor Playing Judge?” SELF, February 2007
The Maggie Award, for “Yes, You Can Save Women’s Lives,” Glamour, February 2004
City and Regional Magazine Association Award (third place), 2004, for 2003 body of work.
Clarion Award, 2004, for “Who is the Boy in the Box?” Philadelphia, November 2003
Society of Professional Journalists Award (third place), 2004, for “Who is the Boy in the Box?” Philadelphia, November 2003
City and Regional Magazine Association Award, 2001, for “The Crash,” Philadelphia, May 2000
Clarion Award, 2001, for “How Connie Got Her Body Back,” Philadelphia, May 2000
Clarion Award, 2000, for “I’ll Be Damned,” Philadelphia, June 1999
City and Regional Magazine Association Award (second place), 2000, for “I’ll Be Damned,” Philadelphia, June 1999
City and Regional Magazine Association Award (third place), 1999, for 1998 body of work.
Clarion Award, 1998, for “Generation Rx,” Philadelphia, December 1997
Society of Professional Journalists Award (second place), 1998, for “Generation Rx,” Philadelphia, December 1997
The National Magazine Award (finalist), 1997, for “Intimate Intimidation,” Philadelphia, April 1996
City and Regional Magazine Association Award (third place), 1997, for “Intimate Intimidation,” Philadelphia, April 1996
Clarion Award, 1997, for “Intimate Intimidation,” Philadelphia, April 1996
Society of Professional Journalists Award, 1997, for “Intimate Intimidation,” Philadelphia, April 1996
Rolling Stone College Journalism Competition, 1993, for “Nothing’s Shocking,” 34th Street magazine
http://www.sabrinaerdely.com/bio.html
Basically a journalist who has a list of agenda items....goes out to find something to start the story with...puts a few composite characters into it...runs a theme of good person versus evil person...and ends with a push toward society to take back their communities. Just a theme-reporter, and not much else.
A “theme” reporter who lectures on reporting and writing, and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.