Shame on CNN: Apologize for Steubenville coverage = PETITION

[Coyotl]

http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/cnnsteubenville/

Yesterday a guilty verdict was handed down in the Steubenville rape case, where a 16-year-old girl was raped repeatedly by boys on a high school football team. The verdict was the beginning of justice for this brave young girl, but CNN's coverage was awful.

The entire CNN panel, including Candy Crowley, reporter Poppy Harlow and legal analyst Paul Callan focused on what a tragedy this was for the boys and what a shame it was that their lives had been ruined--as if the rape was some sort of unfortunate accident and they hadn't committed a very serious, very invasive and very life-altering for the survivor, crime.

CNN didn't focus on what this verdict meant for Jane Doe--only sad reflections on the "destroyed" lives of these boys--boys who were caught on tape raping a girl. This is wrong and CNN owes us all an apology. Can you add your name to the petition?
Tell CNN:

"Your Steubenville verdict coverage was terrible and offensive. These boys committed a very serious crime, and they were held accountable. The verdict that the judge handed down was justice--not a "tragedy."The tragedy was the rape. Please apologize and make this right."

[davidn3600]

1. Unfortunately it is difficult to focus on someone who's identity is hidden

[Laurian]

5. They didn't necessarily have to focus on the victim by name, just

avoid sympathetic reporting about the rapists. That was my problem with CNN's coverage.

[chillfactor]

7. agree 100%..

CNN coverage was a travesty to justice served.....and from two women yet.....

[840high]

25. yes

[greiner3]

28. "Unfortunately it is difficult to focus on someone who's identity is hidden"

WTF?????????????????????????????????????????

[marble falls]

33. AND her name is no longer secret. There is a rape culture in this country and in this world. This...

is a taught behavior. It is planned out. it is anti-women.

[TinkerTot55]

29. NO It Isn't....

...when a young professional woman was gang-raped and beaten in Central Park, we knew everything about her, her ordeal, everything but her name. There was no lack of sympathy for her. She was the heroine, the boys/men that beat and brutalized her were regarded as "animals."

Why is this young woman any less deserving of sympathy? Especially in this age of social media, when words and pictures spread so fast? And it would have been a blessing for her if her identity HAD been hidden. Not only does everyone KNOW who she is, at least in that area of Ohio, but they also got to WATCH and SEE her humiliation, graphically. How can she live with that? To paraphrase her abusers, "Her life is over." At least in her hometown.

[davidn3600]

36. I never said she didnt deserve sympathy

But in murder cases for example, you got the victim's family out in front of every microphone. They hold photos of their slain loved one and talk about the life that was destroyed. And people sympathize with that. And then they look at the killer in the courtroom and hate the guy.

When it comes to rape, the only thing people see on TV is the rapist. And because of that, he and his lawyers are going to end up commanding 100% of the attention. There is no one talking about the victim's side of the story because they dont want to accidentally reveal her identity.

So its just a matter of psychology.

[Luminous Animal]

45. Funny. Not once have I had kind thoughts about the rapist because the family

of the victim wasn't on the TV.

[SemperEadem]

62. Precisely

[SemperEadem]

35. apologist

her identity is supposed to be hidden for exactly the reason behind your smarmy little comment. You blame the victim and feel she should be slut shamed, that's what this is.

If they, her willful perpetrators, have to suffer the notoriety of their CRIME, so should she as the VICTIM? That's rich.

[davidpdx]

53. I highly doubt that is what he means

And this is one of the things I hate about DU, is the people who do a drive by a twist someone's words.

The point he is making is there is not anything the media can say about the specifically about victim because of the laws to protect her. If they did, they would face very heavy criticism (and rightfully so). What the media COULD focus on is 1) The long term effect on rape victims (this could include putting advocates on air) and 2) The types of things that need to be done to prevent rape (i.e. educational campaigns, accountability measures by schools, etc.).

I didn't catch any of the coverage on TV, though CNN International (I'm outside the US) was suppose to break into the program to cover it live (State of the Union was not on here), they didn't. I found a feed through one of the TV stations in Ohio which had no commentary and that was the better way to watch it anyway.

[SemperEadem]

61. wrong

no, he meant exactly what he typed.

don't conflate your interpretation of what he said with what he actually said.

[davidpdx]

64. See post #29 drive by

[rhett o rick]

77. I think your righteous outrage is misplaced.

I think calling a DU poster an "apologist" and "smarmy" is rude and not appropriate. What happened in Steubenville was outrageous and if someone here clearly supports the actions of the boys, that would be outrageous. If the poster violates TOS or CS, then alert. If you dont agree with what is posted then attack the post not the poster. Please keep rudeness out of it.

[JeaneRaye]

38. Not any more

Apparently, FOX "news" remedied that little problem today by releasing her name. Appalling.

[AgingAmerican]

74. So feel sorry for the perpetrators instead?

n/t

[lark]

82. Horse manure!!

This isn't because the girl is anonymous, it's because the boys are gasp - football players - and well, young men and not women. Women are always distrusted and vilifed in these situations strictly because they are women and dared to speak out against their masters, men.

It's a disgusting and real part of this patriarchal (sp?) society.

[Coyotl]

89. It might have more to do with privilege and status than gender

I'm not sure about this, but my impression is that young men of privilege are the subjects, with football conveying more status than just have parents who have leading roles of power in the community. They are Republicans, after all, I'm betting, and looking out for their own instead of justice.

[Judi Lynn]

2. K & R. n/t

[Cha]

3. "A girl was raped and the media.."

http://theobamadiary.com/2013/03/18/rise-and-shine-460/#comments

thanks Coyotl

[GoCubsGo]

6. Yep, not just CNN.

Randi Rhodes is spending the greater part of her show discussing the way the media, and the blogosphere and their readers are handling it. LOADS of "blame the victim going on. It is nauseating.

[SCVDem]

21. No kidding!

I was kinda glad I only heard parts of the show while shopping.

A little sure went a long way. I think the show should be played in prime time for greater exposure of this important injustice.

[TinkerTot55]

32. QUickly scanned your graphics and ..

...my mind read:

" A Girl Was Raped By the Media..."

[kimmylavin]

50. Wow, me too.

Had to go back and re-read.
Made sense to me both ways.

[SemperEadem]

63. well, that, too... with fux noose leading the way

by putting her name out.

[sheshe2]

51. The media raped them again.

So much for VAWA, Cha.

I have been crying all night, every thread. It's obscene.

Screw the victims over and over again. I hate this. I feel like my head is about to explode!

[Cha]

52. It's incredible, she.. I keep asking

myself why they would do that? Rape is rape.. the perpetrators are not the victims. WTH kind of upside down world do they live in?

Have you seen this to sign, she?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022530337

MoveOn is passing it around too.

[sheshe2]

54. I have Cha...

read it and signed it.

WOW, I stopped watching CNN over 10 years ago. They have become the new fox news station!

Rape is rape, until the media tells us it's not. The poor boys, they had such a bright future!

Ah well is their logo, the most trusted news station! No they are not.

[Cha]

55. Good for you.. I stopped watching them

11 years ago. They have only gotten exponentially worse according to online reports I've read throughout the years. Keep hoping for the inevitable Implosion.

cnn.. the most Disgusting name in news. fox started out a propaganda station and everyone knows it. cnn use to be about real news in the beginning but has evolved into a sneaky fascist propaganda media source.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

4. Signed and shared earlier. Thank you.

I should have posted it here! Glad you did.

[Cha]

8. Signed and Shame on Candy Crowley.. really, Candy?

[tularetom]

31. You expected anymore from that cretin?

Forget it Jake it's Chinatown.

[Kalidurga]

9. I think that some of the reporters and up the people that gave the green light...

to this kind of reporting need to be fired. It isn't that hard to not sympathize with a rapist.

[chillfactor]

10. okay..petition signed

I wrote my own message and it was unkind to these so-called "journalists".....

thank you for the link

[Uncle Joe]

11. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Coyotl.

[loudsue]

12. Don't just sign a petition....Call 'em. And call their sponsors if they don't issue a

very sincere apology, stating that they KNOW how offensive their coverage was.

[zeemike]

13. God I am glad I don't have TV.

But what you don't understand that these were football players....promising football players...Now I ask you, what is more important than that?
That has to be more important than some girls emotional state...I mean they could lose the big game.
'

[Sienna86]

14. Done n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Better petition to fire the coach for failing to report the rape as mandated by law. Then prosecute:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022530492

[Iwillnevergiveup]

16. Signed and wrote a note

Now if this coverage becomes an issue in the news watch Candy's heartfelt, "If I offended anyone..." non-apology.

[Danascot]

17. Crap like this is

why we HAVE a culture of rape. Mixed messages won't cut it. Rape needs to be universally condemned.

[llmart]

18. Signed with a personal note.

This is why I don't have cable. I would have thrown a brick through the TV if I had witnessed her saying that.

Why does she still have a job anyway?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

48. same here. n/t

[frogmarch]

19. Done, and

gave them a piece of my mind too.

[littlewolf]

20. signed and very unhappy told em so

the other thing that bothers me is that these 2 rapist were tried in Juvie court.
so they only serve till they are 21.

[SCVDem]

23. Jails aren't safe places to be!

Maybe something Biblical will happen.

[Ms. Toad]

27. Please don't insinuate rape would be a good thing -

even it its victims have committed rape themselves. I hope you will delete your post.

[littlewolf]

37. I am not sure what he meant I took it to mean

a beat down of Biblical proportions. Although violence is
wrong, sometimes it is deserved.

[Ms. Toad]

44. It is pretty commonly known

that the violence that happens most frequently to rapists is rape. In that light, the Biblical reference seemed to me to be a pretty clear reference to Sodom & Gomorrah.

And, it really isn't much better to hope for a beat down of epic proportions.

[SCVDem]

49. Any insinuations are yours Ms. Toad

My post did not include anything about wishing or hoping.

[SCVDem]

22. I quit watching CNN shortly after Gulf 1

When Bernard Shaw and yes, even Elsa Klensch were replaced, the network went stupid.

The original mission of just news without pretty faces was tossed and that was that. AMF!

[840high]

24. CNN is a rag.

[Luminous Animal]

26. Signed and tweeted.

[SemperEadem]

30. There is no "please" to put in front of that demand.

Candy Crowley fucked up big time. It's clear she has no gate-keeping apparatus between her small brain and her big mouth.

[freshwest]

34. K & R this all the way.

[zeeland]

39. K&R

[maggiesfarmer]

40. link to the segment in question?

I didn't see the segment in question here, but I watch a fair amount of CNN coverage. I saw Poppy Harlow's updates on the morning show the last several days and didn't leave with the impression this post suggests she's been conveying. I know I've heard that one recording on CNN ("but she's not my daughter&quot enough times to make me sick -- sure didn't seem sympathetic for the boys.

Not saying the OP or linked movement is wrong, just saying I didn't see the segment being discussed and didn't get the impression there was any spin towards "boys as victims" here.

[seabeyond]

41. done. thank you. nt

[arely staircase]

42. youtube

3/18/13 - On Sunday, the Steubenville rape trial concluded with the judge finding two high school football players — Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16 — guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl. The case itself has received a widespread coverage, but after the verdict was handed down, CNN became part of the story due to reporting "sympathetic" with the accused. A petition, with more than 30,000 signatures, is asking for a public apology from the network.

The petition criticizes the network for "sympathizing" with the rapists rather than the victim: That CNN decided to paint the tears of the convicted Steubenville rapists in a sympathetic light and say how their lives were ruined — while completely ignoring the fact that the rape victim's life is the one whose life was ruined by these rapists' actions — is disgusting and helps perpetuate a shameful culture in which young people never understand the concept of consent and in which rape victims are blamed and ostracized.

CNN host Candy Crowley spoke about how emotional the atmosphere in the courtroom must have been, turning to correspondent Poppy Harlow, who responded: I've never experienced anything like it, Candy. It was incredibly emotional — incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believe their life fell apart. One of — one of the young men, Ma'lik Richmond, when that sentence came down, he collapsed. He collapsed in the arms of his attorney, Walter Madison. He said to me, "My life is over. No one is going to want me now."

[magical thyme]

79. He said to me, "My life is over. No one is going to want me now."

Amazing. Just amazing. Wonder if someday that rapist punk will make the connection...

[Luminous Animal]

43. Kick.

[locke_ender]

46. An Australian Newspaper reports on CNN's disgusting response...

http://www.dailylife.com.au/all-about-women/there-was-only-one-victim-at-steubenville-20130318-2gaxy.html

[chillfactor]

60. i read the story

excellent reporting .. a great put-down of CNN and media in general about rape reporting....

[Blue_Tires]

81. Thanks for this...

and welcome to the site...

[Mnemosyne]

83. Thanks locke_ender. You may not post much, but when you do, it's good.

It's nice to see media that view rape sanely.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

47. done! Here's my added comment:

CNN drips with Pity for pitiless young men who thought destroying a young girl (she's a minor) was hilarious? There are indications she was drugged, too, in order to facilitate their "fun".

I can't describe the depths of my outrage, that your supposedly professional staff would twist public sympathy towards evil little entitled boys who are only sorry they got caught, while ignoring the fact that because of their craven acts, a promising young GIRL's life has been scarred forever.

You not only owe the world an apology, you need to overhaul your attitudes if CNN's corporate culture can result in staff who dont understand the responsibility they bear to the survivors of conscienceless, violent jocks.

Sincerely,
Cindy Gilchrist

[rhett o rick]

56. Does anyone have an email addy for Candy? nm

[DevonRex]

57. Done. I let them have it.

Candy Crowley and Poppy Harlow and Paul Callan disgusted me. Filthy people. Just filthy. The thing is, they should have realized immediately how that segment came off and should have apologized without being told. The fact that they haven't tells me all I need to know.

[UtahLib]

58. Thanks for the heads up - signed and commented. n/t

[Demo_Chris]

59. kick and rec!

[Ganja Ninja]

66. I wonder if you'd say that if it were your daughter?

That was just a pant load. Enjoy, your pizza is about to be served.

[ET Awful]

68. Yup, sure, and women who wear provocative clothing are responsible for it if they get raped because

they also act with "reckless disregard for decency" right?

Hell, for that matter, shooting victims are to blame because they act with a reckless disregard for personal safety by not wearing body armor to school right?

[Ian_rd]

71. Wow.

You say she should also be held liable for "her conduct." She was not "conducting" anything while she was passed out. Sure, she shouldn't have been drinking. But even a hint that she shares some kind of culpability for what happened to her after she was unconscious is beyond stupid. Way, way, way beyond stupid. This is like ... Michael Savage level stupid.

[ET Awful]

67. The headline sent out by the CNN Android App said something to the effect of . . .

"Two suspects found guilty in the rape of allegedly drunk 16-year old girl."

Yes, they definitely said "allegedly drunk".

[IdaBriggs]

69. Signed. Kick & Rec. nt

[City Lights]

70. Signed.

Thanks for sharing this here.

[myrna minx]

72. K&R

[WCLinolVir]

73. http://www.cnn.com/feedback/

You can find CC there too. Please send them a message.

[rhett o rick]

75. Thanks. Here is the specific page http://www.cnn.com/feedback/show/?s=generalcomments&hdln=4

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/show/?s=generalcomments&hdln=4

[Evergreen Emerald]

76. I am reminded of the coverage of Kobe Bryant

That woman, who had the courage to come forward was brutalized by the media --and Bryant's defense. Much of the media hid the fact that he had been apparently accused before and focused on the idea that the tests found her boyfriend's sperm as well as Bryant's... as if the idea that having sex with her boyfriend meant that she deserved it.

I believe he got away with rape and is now a hero in the US, while the victim was shoved under a rock.

[Coyotl]

78. Thanks to everyone who signed and rec'ed this.

morning :kick:

[just1voice]

80. CNN = pure propaganda = emotional not rational responses incited for ratings

The emotional response exhibited by this petition is exactly what CNN hopes for every single minute of their venal existences. Any publicity is good publicity to them, they are propagandists.

[Mnemosyne]

84. ...

[Bobbie Jo]

85. Done. nt

[valerief]

86. I'm doing my share. I NEVER turn on CNN. For ANYTHING. nt

[Petrushka]

87. The young rape victim's life was threatened on Twitter & Facebook . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/steubenville-rape-case-twitter-threats_n_2904463.html


And . . . of course, this 77-year-old grandma signed the petition and made a comment.

[RebelOne]

88. Signed and told a story of my own when I was a teenager. n/t

[timdog44]

90. Also done. n/t