Media Inequity in the Duke Rape Case
|
Posted by Diane Farsetta July 3rd, 2006 |
Two months ago, I wrote that Duke University had hired the high-powered public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, to help manage media coverage of the rape charges against Duke lacrosse players. I asked:
… whether media activists should call out inequalities in PR representation. Duke is obviously allocating funds to make sure that its story is told. But what about the young mother, the working college student, who has accused the lacrosse team members of assaulting her? Will journalists work twice as hard to get her side of the story?
The answer, as expected, has been no. But at least one legal analyst noticed and is bothered by the resulting wave of one-sided accounts. In an excellent column on the Washington Post website, Andrew Cohen writes (”The Media Rush to Duke’s Defense,” June 27, 2006):
[J]ournalists are tripping all over themselves to quickly and repetitively report the biased view of the young men’s defense attorneys, family members, and other supporters. And the prosecutor, after saying a bit too much too early about his case, now is saying nothing at all, leaving the defense spin unchallenged and gaining both in perceived credence and volume.
Cohen goes on to deconstruct a recent Newsweek piece (Evan Thomas and Susannah Meadows, “Doubts About Duke: The prosecutor insists his rape case is strong. One big problem: the facts thus far,” June 29, 2006). The Newsweek article — which ironically asserts that the media has treated the Duke case “as a morality tale of pampered jocks gone wild” — unquestionably presents the defense team’s arguments as the truth. Even worse, it repeatedly calls into question the credibility of both Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong and the accuser, even going so far as detailing her unrelated sexual activity around the time of the alleged rape.
Referring to Bob Elkstrand, the lacrosse players’ lawyer, Cohen argues:
[O]bviously Elkstrand has a deep bias in favor of the people he is describing to Newsweek — otherwise he wouldn’t be worth his weight in gold lacrosse sticks as an attorney. … Given that Elkstrand hardly is in a position to offer anything but his own spin, what is his self-serving, client-serving description doing leading off a lengthy news-analysis piece? …
[T]he story by Newsweek, which often sets the news agenda for the rest of the week, was widely imitated on cable television and in the blogosphere, where experts were happy to discuss what a disaster the prosecution was, what a fool Nifong was and how unjust it was that the charges hadn’t already been dropped. The case against the players didn’t publicly get weaker last week — so far as I know — but the appearance of the case did, which is precisely what defense attorneys wanted to occur in the court of public opinion as pretrial proceedings lead us either to a trial, a deal or a dismissal. (Emphasis added)
Socially responsible journalism would not only acknowledge the bias of the defense lawyer, it would stress the complexity of the case and observers’ limited access to information at this point in the judicial process. It might even explore the underlying issues of gender violence, race and class, without pretending to know what happened the night of the alleged assault. Instead, Newsweek opted for the sensational approach — presumably because it makes for better copy.
July 5th, 2006 07:02
OK, so the PR for the prosecution seeems underfunded, which I suppose it is relative to the Duke players’ defense, at least if you take out the public resources PR contacts and funding (if only indirect funding) which the prosecutor drew on early in the case. So where is the money which could potentially come from civil rights groups, especially, and feminist groups, secondly, which did make their voices heard at least from the perspective of their individual groups, again early in the case? I don’t think there was ever a time in this case where funds or PR power was directed to making the alleged victim’s case. It might be really interesting to draw up a reasonably objective timeline showing how different groups put different levels of resources into representing themselves, if not the alleged victim, in this case.
By the way, I’m neutral overall on whether or not I think the players charged are guilty of what they’ve been charged with. I think that inappropriate behavior, and probably illegal behavior, likely was engaged in by some of the players, and some of that behavior is not what the stripper could have reasonably forseen or consented to as part of her act. I do think though from what I’ve heard of the case — and recently I’ve heard almost exclusively from the defense, of course — that given the minimal evidence that the prosecution has, it may be nearly impossible to differentiate evidence of rape or other crimes from evidence which could easily be seen to not support the charges. And I think it’s that as much as racism that could explain why civil rights and feminist groups have fallen curiously quiet in recent weeks on this case.
It still though would be interesting to put together the timeline I mentioned earlier…especially because we’re probably going to see the same players involved in another case, which unfortunally will probably happen again soon, and if not at Duke, then somewhere similar.
July 6th, 2006 20:26
[…] 18th Carnival of the Feminists — Punkasses, shouldn’t we get with this gig? Mahablog: The Patients are Running the Asylum Avast, Feminist Conspiracy!: And the Booby Prize Goes To… and Look Who’s Promoting ‘Knuckle-Dragging Radical-Feminist Agitprop’ Well-Timed Period: Medical Abortion Deaths Update Mind the Gap: Thoughts on blogging, hostility and feminist dialogue My Aim is True: It Never Fails (aka, Running While Fat) WIMN’s Voices: Media Inequity in the Duke Rape Case Debate Link: Legal Legitimacy and Abortion Politics and Drunken House Parties Hugo offers Louise Gluck’s “Celestial Music” — Gluck has always been one of my favorite poets. Also, go wish Hugo well in lieu of the hardships he’s been having. […]
December 22nd, 2006 08:17
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read.
December 30th, 2006 22:50
[…] Media Inequity in the Duke Rape Case Diane Farsetta, July 3 […]
April 13th, 2007 05:38
Yeah, that was real inequity. I’ve noticed how since the three young men were vindicated, the prosecutor shown to be a political hack who didn’t mind throwing lives away for votes from gullible lefties and the “victim” to be a lying fraud, there hasn’t been an update on this blog.
Coincidence? Mmm, probably not.
April 13th, 2007 07:42
Sav, you might want to re-read this and my earlier post on the Duke case. I make clear that, at the time I was writing both, no one (besides the parties directly involved) knew what had happened that night.
What I was pointing out was how Duke was paying big bucks for PR, how mainstream media had covered the case, and asking about the ethical and professional duties of journalists covering the case. I hope you would agree that those points are still very valid and important, and likely to surface again in other cases.
April 13th, 2007 19:30
I don’t find it too shocking that the media would report significant details of the case, i.e. that major holes were being driven into the accusers claims. Just as it wasn’t shocking that the media described every salacious accusation against the Lacrosse player for months on end.
And I fail to see how the coverage was sided in the favor of the accused. We heard plenty of how “privileged” the players were, how they were naughty being at a party with alcohol and strippers, and about how a couple of them had previous brushes with the law. Nor do I get the point about Duke hiring a PR firm. The university fired the coach and canceled the team’s season, and 88 “professors” banded together to convict the students. Duke wasn’t exactly in the players corner.
May 9th, 2007 08:29
Rush to judgment is a key issue in our society today! Please let me introduce myself; my name is Barry Porter and I am the Director of Marketing, Adult Publishing Group at Simon & Schuster.
I don’t know if you are aware but Pocket Book/Threshold Editions is about to publish It’s Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case and the Lives It Shattered by Don Yaeger, with Mike Pressler. I have attached the cover image and the press release of our upcoming publication. I would love to send you copies of the book when it becomes available; I just finished it and still cannot believe what I have read! There is so much more to this case then has been released, that is covered in this book.
At this time our pub date for It’s Not About the Truth is 6/12. All marketing, online, and publicity efforts will kick off that week. I just thought you would like a “heads up” about our publication. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me back.
Regards,
Barry