As a public relations practitioner, my ears pricked on Dec. 22 when Rolling Stone’s maximum leader Jann Wenner sent out this missive — right in time for Christmas break — that he was recruiting the Columbia Journalism School to review Rolling Stone’s now-infamous Nov. 19 “A Rape on Campus” story.
My first thoughts? Why would a venerated school of journalism carry the water for what could be a Wenner public relations gambit; i.e., the ol’ “independent review” that’s not really “independent” and not really a “review”? Does the Columbia J School actually have the guts to deeply examine its client’s editorial process while the threat of a defamation suit is hanging over Rolling Stone’s head? And whatever happened to all the additional internal reviewing that Rolling Stone has been promising in rapidly changing editor’s notes thrown on top of its “A Rape on Campus” story since the story began unraveling in the first week of December?
The bottom line: Rolling Stone magazine has issues that go way beyond a public relations perception problem. Its problem is one of reality: It has been widely accused of cooking up a story in a manner that is not only negligent, but, also, might fall under the far more damning umbrella of having reckless disregard for the truth. The accusations go to the core of Rolling Stone ever putting out an investigative story in the future that will have any credibility.
In the crisis communications biz, there is this chestnut: When under fire, stall if the facts are not on your side. Just promise an independent review conducted by a coalition of a board of advisors with a “czar” ultimately stuck giving out a report, preferably well down the road, that will cover the ass of the person under fire.
National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell got the drill down awkwardly last September in the Ray Rice fiasco. Goodell’s report “czar” just happens to work for the law firm with close ties to the NFL, and no one has heard a peep about when this report is coming out. (Does anyone want to take the over/under on the final whistle of this year’s Super Bowl?) New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also worked the same strategy in his bridge-closure PR calamity.
But Rolling Stone is in a different business than the NFL or the political business of running New Jersey.
Rolling Stone is in the truth business. Whoever is whispering into Wenner’s ear should remember this.
When the Washington Post announced on April 15, 1981, that Janet Cooke’s Pulitzer Prize–winning story “Jimmy’s World” was a fabrication, Post ombudsman Bill Green explained to Post readers the flawed process of how the story ever went to print and how it was subsequently nominated for a Pulitzer. Four days after reading about the fabrication, the Post readers were presented with a 13,000-word postmortem by Green.
In other words, the Post tried to clean up its own mess, and did it quickly. Other examples of self-review in similar circumstances can be found at the New York Times in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal and at the Los Angeles Times after the Staples Center pay-to-play calamity.
If the Columbia Journalism School puts out a report quickly that attempts to tell the whole truth and includes details of any legal causes of action that the alleged raping and pillaging Phi Kappa Psi fraternity might have against Rolling Stone, hats off to Columbia. (In the earlier cited example, the Washington Post was not facing the same kind of legal exposure in the wake of “Jimmy’s World.”)
But does Jann Wenner really think that the Columbia J school has the audacity to tell the truth about what Wenner knew about his magazine’s awful fact-checking of the campus rape story, and when did he know it?
Just look at the first paragraph of the two paragraph statement that Wenner released on December 22:
In RS 1223, Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote about a brutal gang rape of a young woman named Jackie at a party in a University of Virginia frat house [“A Rape on Campus”]. Upon its publication, the article generated worldwide attention and praise for shining a light on the way the University of Virginia and many other colleges and universities across the nation have tried to sweep the issue of sexual assault on campus under the rug.
Yes, for a brief time, “A Rape on Campus” generated “worldwide attention and praise.” But his magazine’s story then quickly generated worldwide condemnation as the facts of how the story was cobbled together became clear and Rolling Stone’s own promised internal review has been hushed. Thus, it looks like the statement announcing the “independent review” has all the earmarks of a burgeoning spin-control campaign by Mr. Wenner.
It’s not too late for the Columbia Journalism School. If the school has any inkling that its review even smells of a whitewash, it should immediately cease participation.
And run as fast as it can away from Jann Wenner.
Correction: A previous version of this guest blog had noted that Washington Post Publisher Phil Graham had assigned ombudsman Bill Green the Janet Cooke postmortem, but Graham had died in 1963. Publisher at the time was Graham’s son, Donald.
18 Real-Life Scandals That TV Ripped From the Headlines (Photos)
Ray Rice /"Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit," "American Disgrace”
The October 2014 episode stars a fictional NBA player accused of raping an employee. It came complete with security camera black-and-white elevator footage.
Getty Images
Benghazi/"Madame Secretary," "Another Benghazi"
The episode focuses on the American ambassador in Yemen who has to be extracted from the country after a mob gathers outside the embassy.
In the Season 5 premiere, Carrie Mathison orders an airstrike on a terrorist compound in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The episode borrows heavily from the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.
Getty Images
Jordan Linn Graham/ "Scandal," "Inside the Bubble"
Olivia Pope helps a bride accused of pushing her newlywed husband off a cliff, a case that had the entire country transfixed earlier this year. The bride, Jordan Linn Graham, was sentenced to 30 years after allegedly for killing her husband at Glacier National Park in July.
Instagram
Ebola Outbreak/Fox's new Ebola drama (still in development)
Fox TV is working on a new series centered entirely around the deadly pathogen. More than 6,000 people have died of the disease and 17,000 have been infected. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is by far the most widespread outbreak in history.
CDC
Vince Foster/Inspiration for death of Grayden Osborne, "Scandal" During the Clinton administration, Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster was found dead in Fort Marcy Park after an apparent suicide by gunshot. Conspiracy theorists still believe it could have been homicide, as Osborne might have had enough classified information to bring down the Clinton administration.
Chinese cyber-espionage/"House of Cards," "Chapter 18"
The show's second season covered the Chinese cyber-espionage. China is believed to have gathered information illegally to bolster its economy, as well as monitoring dissidents abroad.
Edward Snowden/"The Newsroom," Season 3
Snowden escaped the U.S. for Russia after he leaked thousands of classified NSA documents starting in 2013. In "The Newsroom," ACN blogger Neal is forced to flee to Venezuela after he gets a hold of more than 27,000 classified government documents.
The Guardian
Eliot Spitzer/"The Good Wife"
The CBS drama is based on disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and his wife, Silda. On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported Spitzer had been patronizing an elite escort service. The scandal led to Spitzer's resignation as Governor on March 17.
"The Vampire of Sacramento" (Richard Chase)/ "CSI," "Justice Served" The chilling episode, in which a serial-killer nutritionist harvests organs from his victims postmortem to treat a blood disorder, pales in comparison to the real story of the Vampire of Sacramento. Richard Chase was convicted of murdering six people, along with countless animals, and drinking their blood to treat a completely fabricated blood disorder.
Paula Deen/Trayvon Martin/"Law & Order: SVU," "American Tragedy" "Law & Order" capitalized on both the Trayvon Martin case and Paula Deen's "n-word" slip with this episode. The story follows a Southern celebrity chef who, fearing for her safety in a deserted area of New York, shoots an unarmed African-American teenager.
The Subway Gunman (Bernard Goetz)/ "Law & Order," "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" One of the first episodes of "Law & Order" focused on a woman who claimed she shot two men in a subway --surprisingly similar to the story of Bernard Goetz, the "Subway Gunman." In 1984, Goetz shot four men in a N.Y. subway car. And while his actions were applauded as self-defense by some, others believe they were racially motivated against his African-American attackers.
Rihanna and Chris Brown: "Law & Order: SVU," "Funny Valentine" Chris Brown's beating of Rihanna was one of the most sensationalized stories of 2009. "Law & Order" took their interpretation one step further to show the consequences of relationship abuse. Their main character, up-and-coming rapper Caleb Bryant, also abuses his girlfriend, R&B artist Micha Green, but the episode ends with Micha's body floating next to Caleb's chartered yacht.
Universal CityWalk Murders/"CSI," "35k O.B.O" On Mother's Day in 1995, two women were stabbed to death on top of a parking structure in Hollywood. The "CSI" version of this episode is fairly similar to the real story, though they changed the victims to a couple celebrating their anniversary; in both cases, a bloody handprint leads authorities to the culprit.
Father Gerald Robinson/ "CSI," "Double Cross" The "CSI" version of this case reveals a nun strangled (by rosary beads, to add to the macabre) and crucified in a Catholic church. The inspiration of the story came from the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, who was strangled and stabbed by Father Gerald Robinson. He's appealing to Ohio's Supreme Court, even though he has been convicted twice.
Gloucester, MA pregnancy pact/"Law & Order: SVU," "Babes" The 2008 discovery of a pact made between girls at a Massachusetts high school, in which they promised to get pregnant and raise their babies together, provided the storyline for "Babes." The "Law & Order" episode follows the murder of a homeless man to the discovery of the pact.
Sean Combs/Jennifer Lopez: "Law & Order," "3 Dawg Night" In this episode, Darryl "G-Trane" Collins and his girlfriend Allie Tejada are present during a nightclub shooting, and ultimately, Allie is convicted of pulling the trigger. Any resemblance to P. Diddy and J. Lo's infamous 1999 incident, in which they were also present for and implicated in a shooting at a New York nightclub, is supposedly "coincidental."
Casey Anthony/"Law & Order: SVU," "Selfish" Another case that shocked America was the 2008 trial of the mysterious death of Casey Anthony's two-year-old daughter Caylee. In the episode based on the case, the young mother in question is accused of killing her child so she could party more.
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“Law & Order: SVU’s” Ray Rice-inspired episode and “Madam Secretary’s” version of Benghazi are just the latest in a long line of controversies that inspired their own TV shows
Ray Rice /"Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit," "American Disgrace”
The October 2014 episode stars a fictional NBA player accused of raping an employee. It came complete with security camera black-and-white elevator footage.
Ross Johnson is a Los Angeles communications strategist. Previously, he was a contributor to The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times and Esquire magazine.