CNN, Rape Culture & The Responsibility Of The Media

CNN is currently  under fire for the way its personnel have reported the conviction of two Steubenville, Ohio teenagers for raping a classmate.

CNN anchow Poppy Harlow has been specifically criticized for her reporting on the matter; Harlow last’s tweet sheds some light on why that is:

Two Steubenville high school football players accused of raping an allegedly drunk 16-year-old girl were found guilty Sunday.#CNN

I won’t go too far into the particulars of the case, other than to say the culture of entitlement and alcohol abuse that surrounds the community’s vaunted high school football team is hardly unique or shocking. Time and time again, we have seen communities close ranks around male athletes accused of heinous crimes, ultimately invoking some form of argument based around “Boys will be boys” or “She was asking for it.”

Undoubtedly our broader society has a great deal to learn about rape culture and victim-shaming. But how can we expect to grow as a culture, if even respected media outlets like CNN are not equipped to report on and discuss these issues in a manner that shows respect for all victims, not just those involved in the news event.

Harlow’s tweet is clearly problematic, both in its composition and intent. It can be dangerous to overly scrutinize a tweet, since the 140-character limit eliminate any possible nuance, but the description of the victim as “allegedly drunk” is a definite red flag. Given the notoriety surrounding this case, and the resulting public backlash, it is notable that Harlow chose to highlight this fact in her tweet.

One would assume the implication is that the victim’s account of the crime is less than reliable, or that she is somehow responsible for the attack by choosing to consumer alcohol while underage. These sorts of arguments are frequently invoked in rape cases, particularly those involving colleges, fraternities, and other institutions that tacitly condone underage drinking. The victim chose to go to a party full of football players and get drunk enough that she was incoherent. While most will never admit it in public, their view is that she got precisely what she was asking for.

Of course, the reality is far different. Rape is a crime about power and submission, not sex. An intoxicated 16-year-old cannot consent to sex, let alone sex with two football players she barely knows. So there is no doubt that a rape occurred. If a rape occurred, whether the victim was intoxicated or not has no bearing on the reality of the crime. The victim’s intoxication is not a mitigating factor for rape; date rape is still rape, and in this case even that appears to be an overly sensitive description of the events that took place.

Two football players in Steubenville, Ohio raped a teenage girl. They did so in a community that was willing to look the other way, out of fear it would harm some nebulous sense of community generated by winning high school football games. Those football players will now spend a period of time in a correctional facility, which will undoubtedly prevent them from fulfilling their potential both on and off the gridiron. To Poppy Harlow, this a tragedy.

But for that young girl, the trauma of that evening will linger long after the players complete their sentences. She will always bear the pain of the attack, and will likely have to deal with being the target of her community’s misdirected anger. And the next time a football player in Steubenville, Ohio, or Mission Viejo, California, or Jackson, Michigan, decides to prey on a drunk girl and use her intoxication as the pretext for sexual assault, she will probably think twice about reporting it to the police. Because who wants to be the drunk floozy that cost the local team the state title?

As reporters, our first duty is to the truth. How we express that truth requires judgment and respect for those we report on. Those young men had their day in court, and lost. The evidence was damning. There is certainly tragedy in their lost youth and promise. But that was not the headline on this day.

Two football players in Steubenville, Ohio were convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl. If only Harlow had realized that for this story, 87 characters were enough.