VOA慢速英语2015 《滚石》误报强奸案本可避免

Rolling Stone's Mistaken Story of a Rape¹ 'Was Avoidable' 《滚石》误报强奸案本可避免

In December of last year, a well-known American magazine retracted³ a major story. The story reported on a sexual attack at the University of Virginia. A student identified as “Jackie” told the reporter a group of students raped⁴ her at a fraternity party in 2012. But the magazine later said the story was not true. 

Reactions to the rape story

The story was called “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal⁵ Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA.” Rolling Stone magazine published it in November 2015. Reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote the report.

It received a lot of interest. Other magazines, newspapers and blogs followed with more stories about sexual attacks. The media also discussed other issues related to the report, such as alcohol abuse at colleges and social pressure from student groups. Women’s groups and others protested against the actions the report described.

Following the Rolling Stone report, Teresa Sullivan, the president of University of Virginia, suspended all activities on campus related to fraternities and sororities. And, she asked the police department to investigate the rape incident.

But within a week of the report’s publication, Richard Bradley, an author and an editor, raised a question: is the Rolling Stone story true? He asked why the reporter did not interview the victim’s friends or the accused rapists.

On December 5, The Washington Post raised more questions about the story. The Post said there was no party on the day of the reported sexual attack, and even Jackie’s friends questioned her story.

Rolling Stone asked CJR to review the story

Publications rarely retract² a story; admitting a story is false can seriously damage a publication’s reputation. Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner wanted to learn what mistakes were made in reporting and publishing the story and how to avoid them in the future. So, he asked experts at the Columbia Journalism⁶ Review, or CJR, to investigate.

“Rolling Stone’s Investigation⁷: A Failure That Was Avoidable” was released April 5. Columbia journalism professor Sheila Coronel wrote the piece along with Steve Coll, the Dean of the school’s journalism department, and Derek Kravitz, a researcher at Columbia Journalism School.

What did CJR find?

The investigators⁸’ findings were simple. They wrote that the reporter, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, made one major mistake. She based her whole story on information from a single person, the woman who said she was raped.

The CJR report noted⁹ that Ms. Erdely wrote about three friends of Jackie. She described the conversation the four shared on the night of the reported attack. Ms. Erdely used false names for the friends but did not identify them as false. Ms. Erdely also failed to explain that the description of the conversation came from Jackie only. Ms. Erdely did not contact the friends to confirm the conversation or learn anything else they might offer.

Ms. Erdely also never learned the identity of a single suspected attacker.

However, she did partly identify the reported attackers as members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Ms. Erdely wrote that the attack took place during a party at the fraternity’s house on campus. And, Ms. Erdely did seek a comment from the fraternity.

But the CJR report says the reporter provided the fraternity very little information about Jackie’s claims or any details of the story. As a result, the fraternity was not able to provide very helpful information.

The Columbia Journalism Review investigation did not blame just Sabrina Rubin Erdely for the story. It also said the editors involved in “A Rape on Campus” failed. It said the editors did not urge Ms. Erdely to seek confirmation¹⁰ of Jackie’s story. It said they should have demanded that she get more sources. And, finally, the investigators wrote that the editors should have blocked publication of the story.

Sympathetic feelings lead to a bad result

Why did a good reporter make such basic mistakes? Ms. Erdely told the CJR team that she became too sensitive, or sympathetic, to the subject of her story. She said she believed Jackie’s story. She said Jackie was unwilling¹¹ to provide names and claimed to be frightened for her life.

But Ms. Erdely also said she was worried Jackie would withdraw from the story if Ms. Erdely asked too much for additional information.

CJR’s Sheila Coronel said that concern was a major failing on Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s part. Journalists have to be able to break with a subject if they cannot responsibly report on it.

Police release their findings

Last month, police ended their investigation of the reported rape. They said they did not find any evidence of an attack at the fraternity house, nor of a party on the day claimed in the report, nor of a member described as the leader of the attack.

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity says it will take legal action against Rolling Stone for what it calls “reckless” – or, irresponsible – reporting. A fraternity statement also says the group worries that the whole incident might lead some rape victims to fear reporting real attacks.

Like the original piece, “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA,” the CJR investigation has led to much public discussion. This time the subject is journalism and the responsibility it carries.

Words in This Story

retracted – v. said something you said or wrote is not true or correct

fraternity – n. an organization of male students at a U.S. college

sorority – n. an organization of female students at a U.S. college

confirmation – n. proof which shows that something is true or correct

sensitive – adj. aware of and understanding the feelings of other people

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 retract   

vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消

参考例句：

• The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返，悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
• I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话，然后又要收回自己说过的话。

3 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

4 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

11 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。