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To journalists and those fighting sexual assault on campus, Columbia University鈥檚 report on a Rolling Stone story about an alleged fraternity rape at the University of Virginia is jarring. But it doesn鈥檛 come as a surprise.

The magazine already had acknowledged 鈥渄iscrepancies鈥� in the 9,000-word account of a young woman known only as 鈥淛ackie鈥� who claimed to have been gang-raped one night at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. For one thing, the story鈥檚 author 鈥� Sabrina Rubin Erdely 鈥� never attempted to confirm or contact the alleged attackers. For the most part, it was a lurid, single-source story, leading the magazine鈥檚 editors to conclude that their trust in Jackie 鈥渨as misplaced.鈥�

Investigative reports by the Washington Post and other news outlets soon poked major holes in the story, interviewing other sources 鈥� including the man alleged to have been Jackie鈥檚 date that night as well as friends of the young woman who had been with her shortly after the event.

The Charlottesville, Va., police department issued the results of its own four-month investigation, which included more than 70 interviews and found no evidence that such an attack took place. (The case remains open.)

The essence of the investigation and critique by Columbia University鈥檚 Graduate School of Journalism, led by its dean, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll, is found in :

鈥淩olling Stone's repudiation of the main narrative in 鈥楢 Rape on Campus鈥� is a story of journalistic failure that was avoidable. The failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking. The magazine set aside or rationalized as unnecessary essential practices of reporting that, if pursued, would likely have led the magazine's editors to reconsider publishing Jackie's narrative so prominently, if at all. The published story glossed over the gaps in the magazine's reporting by using pseudonyms and by failing to state where important information had come from.鈥�

Rolling Stone鈥檚 鈥淎 Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA鈥� rattled a nation already trying to do something about what critics and activists call a 鈥渞ape culture.鈥� It added to the 鈥淎nimal House鈥� impression of frat boy life that is not only exclusive and privileged but in many places misogynistic and racist.

Reports in recent months have focused on binge drinking 鈥� sometimes leading tragically to the death of young men 鈥� as well as racial insults and sexual misconduct.

At听North Carolina State University, a fraternity听was suspended when what appears to be a fraternity pledge book filled with racist and sexually explicit comments, including handwritten references to rape and lynching, was found at a restaurant near the school's campus. North Carolina State officials suspended another fraternity in response to charges of sexual assault and drug use.

The video tape of a racist chant quickly led to the closure of a fraternity chapter at the University of Oklahoma. Pennsylvania State University听suspended a fraternity which had a private Facebook page that included photos of nude and partly nude women, some apparently asleep or passed out.

Meanwhile, Columbia University鈥檚 damning report about Rolling Stone has led to considerable discussion (and soul-searching) among journalism professionals, whose credibility can be irreparably damaged by such episodes.

With Rolling Stone鈥檚 鈥淎 Rape on Campus,鈥� writes Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, which teaches writing and media ethics around the world, 鈥淲hat might have been an effective anecdote or case study came to dominate the story and, ultimately, undermine it.鈥澨�听

鈥淟ike other writing teachers, I have been a champion of showing over telling, of an appeal to the senses, of the power of vicarious experience through narrative,鈥� . 鈥淏ut there is another, more important move we teach at Poynter, a lesson about focus embodied in the question: 鈥榃hat is this story听really听about?鈥櫶�听When an important investigation about sexual assault on campus became the gruesome story about 鈥榓 rape,鈥� a magazine 鈥� and all its stakeholders 鈥� lost its way.鈥�

Columbia University鈥檚 12,000-word report (considerably longer than the Rolling Stone article it addresses) notes that 鈥渢he story's blowup comes as another shock to journalism's credibility amid head-swiveling change in the media industry.鈥�

鈥淭he particulars of听Rolling Stone's failure make clear the need for a revitalized consensus in newsrooms old and new about what best journalistic practices entail, at an operating-manual-level of detail,鈥� the report states.
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听The UVA fraternity alleged to have been the scene of the attack has called the Rolling Stone article defamatory and says it鈥檚 exploring its legal options.

"These false accusations have been extremely damaging to our entire organization, but we can only begin to imagine the setback this must have dealt to survivors of sexual assault," said Stephen Scipione, president of the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi.

Despite its failures, the article heightened scrutiny of campus sexual assaults amid a campaign by President Obama. The University of Virginia had already been on the US Department of Education's list of 55 colleges under investigation for their handling of sex assault violations.

The article also prompted UVA President Teresa Sullivan to temporarily suspend Greek social events. Fraternities later agreed to ban kegs, hire security workers, and keep at least three fraternity members sober at each event.

Sunday evening, the article was pulled from Rolling Stone鈥檚 website, replaced by the Columbia report.

In an introduction to the report on Rolling Stone鈥檚 website Sunday evening, :

鈥淭his report was painful reading, to me personally and to all of us at听Rolling Stone. It is also, in its own way, a fascinating document 鈥� a听piece of journalism, as Coll describes it, about a failure of journalism.听With its publication, we are officially retracting 'A Rape on Campus.' We听are also committing ourselves to a series of recommendations about听journalistic practices that are spelled out in the report.听We would like to apologize to our readers and to all of those who were听damaged by our story and the ensuing fallout, including members of the Phi听Kappa Psi fraternity and UVA administrators and students.听Sexual assault is a serious problem on college campuses, and it is听important that rape victims feel comfortable stepping forward. It saddens听us to think that their willingness to do so might be diminished by our听failings.鈥澨�

Also on Sunday evening, Ms. Erdely issued an , in which she said, 鈥淚 want to offer my deepest apologies: to Rolling Stone鈥檚 readers, to my Rolling Stone editors and colleagues,听to the听U.V.A. community, and to any victims of sexual assault who may feel fearful as a result of my article.鈥�

This report includes material from the Associated Press.