Empathy should not trump news judgment, even in stories about rape: Ted Diadiun
Today 5:30 AM
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center opened a new office last year serving the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. In his column today, Ted Diadiun argues that, in reporting on rapes, whether the survivor was highly intoxicated or not is a relevant detail.
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CLEVELAND Is it fair or ethical for news organizations to include information about the victims’ sobriety in stories about rape allegations?
Addressing that issue would have been a natural part of my role during the decade I spent as Reader Representative (ombudsman) for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, a role from which I had free rein to weigh in on what we do and why – as I still do. So while I’m not angling to get my old job back, the above question has arisen in these pages in recent weeks and since my opinion runs counter to others here, it seemed appropriate to offer some thoughts on the journalism of it all.