The mistakes in the controversial Rolling Stone article, “A Rape on Campus,” were fundamental and avoidable, Sheila Coronel, an author of the investigative report on the article, said at a conversation with the report's co-author, Steve Coll, on Monday night.
Coll is the Dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and Coronel is the Academic Affairs Dean.
The November article by Sabrina Rudin Erdely described in what Coll called “molecular detail” the alleged gruesome gang rape of the pseudonymous “Jackie” at a University of Virginia fraternity house party. The story called out the alleged systematic failure of UVA to respond to Jackie’s case and other sexual assault cases.
However, Rolling Stone relied only on Jackie’s account, moderator and journalism professor Joe Stephens said. He explained that the story Rolling Stone published was not corroborated by Jackie’s friends who were quoted in the article, the accused fraternity or any others involved in the story.
The story came into questionafter the Washington Post interviewed the UVA students identified as Jackie’s friends, Stephens said, adding that people also grew suspicious because of the article's loose threads.
“It started unravelling slowly, and then quicker and more quickly, and with Rolling Stone’s reputation at risk, it did something that I think was wise — it reached out to the Columbia School of Journalism," he said.
For the report, Coronel and Coll spoke to nearly everyone involved with the Rolling Stone story, Coronel said.
The Columbia investigative report on the article was published in early April, and is available in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.
The report concluded that the Rolling Stone story failed because it gave undue reverence to a single, uncorroborated source, and neglected to adequately check facts by finding the accused. From writer to editor to fact-checker, the failure of Rolling Stone was an institutional and procedural one. The report recommended new policies, which Coll said he doubted Rolling Stone would accept.
“It was a collaborative failure,” Coll said. “They did this together.”
Editors, fact checkers and Erdely were all at fault for the failure, Coll and Coronel said.
Coll said he and Coronel wanted to puncture the defense that Rolling Stone publicly offered, not to shame the publication, but rather to make the failure a teachable moment.
“[Rolling Stone staff working on the article] took the position when the story fell apart that they had failed because they had been too sensitive to Jackie’s position as a survivor of a terrible assault,” he said.
But the authors of the report thought Rolling Stone's sensitivity defense was no excuse for ignoring basic journalistic practices.
“If they had only done the basics of sound reporting practice at several stages, they would have encountered information that would cause them to turn around and run in the opposite direction,” Coll said.
The conversation, entitled “A Rape on Campus: What Went Wrong with the Rolling Stone Story,” took place in a full Dodds Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Monday. The event was sponsored by the Wilson School and the University Press Club.
Read More
Students celebrate the return of Poe field with informal recreation and a lunar eclipse viewing
Vitus Larrieu and Nikki HanPoe and Pardee Fields are back after over a year of closure related to Princeton’s geo-exchange energy system project. Students are celebrating their return with informal sports activities and a lunar eclipse viewing party.
Poe and Pardee Fields are back after over a year of closure related to Princeton’s geo-exchange energy system project. Students are celebrating their return with informal sports activities and a lunar eclipse viewing party.
Voter registration drive draws hundreds of students ahead of Election Day
Sena ChangVote100 and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students registered over 100 students to vote on National Voter Registration Day.
Vote100 and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students registered over 100 students to vote on National Voter Registration Day.
First-year Writing Seminars undergo curriculum overhaul to improve student experience
Cynthia Torres and Caitlyn TabladaThe First-year Writing Seminar Program, a core requirement for first-year students, has undergone changes to its curriculum for the 2024-25 school year. This new curriculum will feature two main essays as opposed to the standard three and two other assignments to make writing seminars more varied and manageable for first-year students.
The First-year Writing Seminar Program, a core requirement for first-year students, has undergone changes to its curriculum for the 2024-25 school year. This new curriculum will feature two main essays as opposed to the standard three and two other assignments to make writing seminars more varied and manageable for first-year students.
