Sabrina Rubin Erdely: Article Analysis

The competition in journalism motivates reporters to uncover stories faster than their opposition. A problem occurs when journalists forgo a thorough investigation in order to get their story out quicker. If a story’s accuracy is in question then the credibility of that publication is now at risk. Rolling Stone published an article about a fraternity’s gang rape of a University of Virginia freshman. The story follows the rape victim’s life after the attack and is critical of the university’s actions pertaining to the sexual assault. The author, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, was questioned about her failure to contact the alleged rapists and get the other side of the story. The story triggered a debate about journalism ethics and how the media should

She spent weeks interviewing students from colleges all across the country until she came to the University of Virginia. She contacted Emily Renda, a rape survivor working on sexual assault issues as a staff member at the University of Virginia. Erdely said, “she was searching for a single, emblematic college rape case that would show what it's like to be on campus now, where not only is rape so prevalent but also that there's this pervasive culture of sexual harassment and rape culture (Coronel)." Renda believes she knows a victim who fits this description, and this is how Erdely met

Jackie was asked out by a junior, Drew, who she met while working as a lifeguard. He was a member of the fraternity and invited her to a dinner party. At the party Jackie accompanies Drew upstairs to a dark room and is startled by other frat members who begin to take control of her. She said that for three hours, seven men repeatedly raped her. She overhears one of the men say to another, "Don't you want to be a brother? We all had to do it, so you do too." This implies that there was a fraternity initiation process and that the men were assaulting her in order to gain their peer’s acceptance.

She was found by her friends outside the Phi Kappa Psi house crying and distressed. They contemplate about what they should do as far as reporting the attack and one friend exclaimed, "Her reputation will be shot for the next four years." They discuss the social implications of reporting Jackie's rape, and one friend is concerned that “she's going to be the girl who cried rape, and we'll never be allowed into any frat party again