Sabrina Erdely, the author of "A Rape on Campus"—which has now been officially retracted by Rolling Stone after being torn apart by a journalistic review by the Columbia School of Journalism—issued an apology Sunday. One group she somehow failed to mention in her apology: UVA's Phi Kappa Psi, the fraternity her false article defamed.
In her apology, Erderly emphasizes her own suffering and good intentions, stressing her "compassion," "concern," and trust in the “rape victim,” which she clearly wants the reader to believe is the real reason things went wrong, rather than her attempt from the start to break a big story and perform some serious journalistic activism. She apologizes first to Rolling Stone readers and her colleagues before vaguely mentioning the "U.V.A. community" and potential victims of sexual assault, but glaringly fails to mention the falsely accused fraternity:
The past few months, since my Rolling Stone article “A Rape on Campus” was first called into question, have been among the most painful of my life. Reading the Columbia account of the mistakes and misjudgments in my reporting was a brutal and humbling experience. I want to offer my deepest apologies: to Rolling Stone’s readers, to my Rolling Stone editors and colleagues, to the U.V.A. community, and to any victims of sexual assault who may feel fearful as a result of my article.
Over my 20 years of working as an investigative journalist — including at Rolling Stone, a magazine I grew up loving and am honored to work for — I have often dealt with sensitive topics and sources. In writing each of these stories I must weigh my compassion against my journalistic duty to find the truth. However, in the case of Jackie and her account of her traumatic rape, I did not go far enough to verify her story. I allowed my concern for Jackie’s well-being, my fear of re-traumatizing her, and my confidence in her credibility to take the place of more questioning and more facts. These are mistakes I will not make again.
Reporting on rape has unique challenges, but the journalist still has the responsibility to get it right. I hope that my mistakes in reporting this story do not silence the voices of victims that need to be heard.
After thorough review of Erderly's "A Rape on Campus," the Columbia School of Journalism concluded that the retracted piece is an example of fully "avoidable" systemic "journalistic failure" that "encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking":
Rolling Stone's repudiation of the main narrative in "A Rape on Campus" is a story of journalistic failure that was avoidable. The failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking. The magazine set aside or rationalized as unnecessary essential practices of reporting that, if pursued, would likely have led the magazine's editors to reconsider publishing Jackie's narrative so prominently, if at all. The published story glossed over the gaps in the magazine's reporting by using pseudonyms and by failing to state where important information had come from.
Despite the damning review, Rolling Stone has made clear that it will not discipline anyone involved, including Erderly, for its humiliating "journalistic failure."
This article has been updated.
