The tribal media is as biased and stubborn as Mike Nifong.
MU78 12/8/2024 11:54 am
Reading the original post and the ‘qualified apology’ I would have to say that C. Thompson must have problems with reading comprehension.
At least Thompson did not accuse you of being a rape apologist like other writers that also had their journalistic spidey senses tingling.
It think Thompson believes you should just accept all rape allegations like Zerlina Maxwell did in the Wash Post.
Tom Maguire 12/8/2024 2:14 pm
Ahh, but is the guy even qualified to offer an unqualified apology?
Well. His gist is that Mr. Bradley criticized Erdely for not contacting the accused but did not himself attempt to contact Ms. Erdely.
Interesting. I myself almost never attempt to contact anyone, but I am nobody and why would they respond? But Mr. Bradley is hardly nobody.
And certainly in a follow-up post (Beyond The Missing Men) he noted that the original article was ambiguous as to whether Ms. Erdely had spoken to the three rescuers. Maybe an email exchange could have strengthened that speculation or resolved the ambiguity.
Mr. Bradley did write this:
“But first, I want to say a few words about why it’s important to contact the accused for comment.”
But again, no hint that he attempted to contact Ms. Erdely, not even the likely “No response”.
I don’t think anybody here was bothered; I know I wasn’t. But the critic has noted a certain “Do as I say” irony here.
And look - a qualified apology beats the usual dead silence, so Mr. Bradley has that going for him…
There’s a difference between an opinion piece, which is what I wrote, and what presents itself as a piece of reporting. An opinion piece is just that; an opinion. Because you are not presenting something as fact, it’s not thought that you need to call people for their reaction. (Imagine if the NYT op-ed page had to call every person mentioned in it for comment.) Reporting should be based on the rules I outlined. That’s why Mr. Thompson’s gotcha was so stupid—and why his “qualified apology” only perpetuates the mistake.
Lara 12/8/2024 2:31 pm
I guess he thinks you should have gone to UVA, in person, and conducted a thorough investigation before commenting.
Sabrina No Source 12/8/2024 2:32 pm
Richard
The problem is the pre-existing bias. Thompson is part of a larger crowd of activist journalists who seek justice before truth.
Thankfully, there are still journalists who care about truth before narrative. Thank you.
If you all could have seen the original email that Thompson wrote me-out of fairness, I can’t show it to you, since it wasn’t intended for publication-you’d be shocked at how transparent it is. The guy was basically like, “I’m going to make you look bad, so here’s a question that will make you look bad.”
Tom Maguire 12/8/2024 3:46 pm
“There’s a difference between an opinion piece, which is what I wrote, and what presents itself as a piece of reporting.”
Look, it’s your blog. The only rules are whatever you want.
In fact, Thompson could reasonably have inferred that if you were presenting a “reporting” piece there would be quotes and sources. In a reasonable moment, he might have reflected that if a post looks like an unsourced opinion piece maybe that is what it is.
Your blog is certainly easier to sort out that way, vis a vis the NY Times, which routinely offers reporting, commentary and opinion distinguished only by subtle font changes (or something - they explain from time to time and mail out new decoder rings but who can keep up?)
Fluboy 12/8/2024 3:56 pm
Richard/Tom, I thought Richard said he’d tried to contact Erdeley a couple of times but got no response?
MU78 12/8/2024 5:12 pm
I guess Thompson is the guy who bought a copy of the Mary Mapes book and doesn’t understand why it’s not ranked in the top 4,000,000 titles on Amazon.
Female UVA Grad '86 12/8/2024 5:17 pm
Heh. Their criticism of you was based on the fact you used “incomplete reporting to question what he(Bradley) suggested was incomplete reporting.”
Take heart - they did say you’re looking “smarter by the minute.”
Thank you one more time for all your efforts, and your bravery in challenging this from the beginning. You are proving the adage “a pioneer is the guy with the arrows in his back” correct.
Tom Maguire 12/8/2024 5:20 pm
“Richard/Tom, I thought Richard said he’d tried to contact Erdeley a couple of times but got no response?”
If I had to guess I would say that was in “Aftermath”, by which time she surely knew who Richard Bradley was.
Here we go:
” When she has spoken, it’s conspicuously to mainstream media outlets, like NPR, that are likely to be more sympathetic to her. (Rubin Erdely has not responded to two emails I sent her.)”
I did reach out to Erdley, but after I’d written my original post—not because I felt like I had to, because I felt that the questions I had asked were getting more pressing.
Anonymous 12/8/2024 6:07 pm
Richard,
Her last name is Rubin Erdely.
Pat Curley 12/8/2024 6:47 pm
What’s with the royal “We” in “We are going to offer…”, etc.? The column appears to be written by a single person, not some sort of group posting.
Razor 12/8/2024 9:18 pm
“Richard Bradley is an author who was born Richard Blow, but he changed his name, either because it led too easily to puerile jokes or because he wanted to get out from under the weight it carried after his 2002 unauthorized biography of John F. Kennedy Jr.”
Wow, talk about some detached reporting. Guess the puerile joke is on them now.
Kyle McKenna 12/8/2024 9:46 pm
No one ever accused Bloomberg of unbiased or agenda-free reporting.
Tom Maguire 12/8/2024 9:54 pm
I suppose I could check the Slate stylebook but atthe WaPo she is “Erdely.
E.g., from their big Friday expose:
… Jackie said she asked Erdely to be taken out of the article. She said Erdely refused, and Jackie was told that the article would go forward regardless.
Jackie said she finally relented and agreed to participate on the condition that she be able to fact-check her parts in the story, which she said Erdely agreed to.”
Here is Hannah Rosin at Slate:
“But if Andy is to be believed, that means Jackie told an exaggerated story to Erdely, and that Erdely was all too happy to create an even more perfect victim…”
Well, Mr. Bradley has led before and may yet again if Rubin Erdely is her preferred name. But the crowd is heading in a different direction.
Maybe if she emailed him with that request…
Anonymous 12/8/2024 11:00 pm
It wasn’t in “Aftermath” that Bradley first mentioned having tried to contact Erdely, it was in “Where Is Sabrina Rubin Erdely?”.
Published on 2 December, it reads:
“I emailed her yesterday afternoon to see if she would answer some polite questions about her story.
“No response yet.
“I have emailed her again….
“Update, Tuesday at 10:18: Nothing yet from SRE, and I don’t expect to hear anything from her; nor do I expect to hear anything from her editor at Rolling Stone, Sean Woods, whom I also emailed.”
19 Responses
12/8/2024 11:54 am
The tribal media is as biased and stubborn as Mike Nifong.
12/8/2024 11:54 am
Reading the original post and the ‘qualified apology’ I would have to say that C. Thompson must have problems with reading comprehension.
At least Thompson did not accuse you of being a rape apologist like other writers that also had their journalistic spidey senses tingling.
It think Thompson believes you should just accept all rape allegations like Zerlina Maxwell did in the Wash Post.
12/8/2024 2:14 pm
Ahh, but is the guy even qualified to offer an unqualified apology?
Well. His gist is that Mr. Bradley criticized Erdely for not contacting the accused but did not himself attempt to contact Ms. Erdely.
Interesting. I myself almost never attempt to contact anyone, but I am nobody and why would they respond? But Mr. Bradley is hardly nobody.
And certainly in a follow-up post (Beyond The Missing Men) he noted that the original article was ambiguous as to whether Ms. Erdely had spoken to the three rescuers. Maybe an email exchange could have strengthened that speculation or resolved the ambiguity.
Mr. Bradley did write this:
“But first, I want to say a few words about why it’s important to contact the accused for comment.”
But again, no hint that he attempted to contact Ms. Erdely, not even the likely “No response”.
I don’t think anybody here was bothered; I know I wasn’t. But the critic has noted a certain “Do as I say” irony here.
And look - a qualified apology beats the usual dead silence, so Mr. Bradley has that going for him…
12/8/2024 2:17 pm
Tom-
There’s a difference between an opinion piece, which is what I wrote, and what presents itself as a piece of reporting. An opinion piece is just that; an opinion. Because you are not presenting something as fact, it’s not thought that you need to call people for their reaction. (Imagine if the NYT op-ed page had to call every person mentioned in it for comment.) Reporting should be based on the rules I outlined. That’s why Mr. Thompson’s gotcha was so stupid—and why his “qualified apology” only perpetuates the mistake.
12/8/2024 2:31 pm
I guess he thinks you should have gone to UVA, in person, and conducted a thorough investigation before commenting.
12/8/2024 2:32 pm
Richard
The problem is the pre-existing bias. Thompson is part of a larger crowd of activist journalists who seek justice before truth.
Thankfully, there are still journalists who care about truth before narrative. Thank you.
12/8/2024 2:35 pm
If you all could have seen the original email that Thompson wrote me-out of fairness, I can’t show it to you, since it wasn’t intended for publication-you’d be shocked at how transparent it is. The guy was basically like, “I’m going to make you look bad, so here’s a question that will make you look bad.”
12/8/2024 3:46 pm
“There’s a difference between an opinion piece, which is what I wrote, and what presents itself as a piece of reporting.”
Look, it’s your blog. The only rules are whatever you want.
In fact, Thompson could reasonably have inferred that if you were presenting a “reporting” piece there would be quotes and sources. In a reasonable moment, he might have reflected that if a post looks like an unsourced opinion piece maybe that is what it is.
Your blog is certainly easier to sort out that way, vis a vis the NY Times, which routinely offers reporting, commentary and opinion distinguished only by subtle font changes (or something - they explain from time to time and mail out new decoder rings but who can keep up?)
12/8/2024 3:56 pm
Richard/Tom, I thought Richard said he’d tried to contact Erdeley a couple of times but got no response?
12/8/2024 5:12 pm
I guess Thompson is the guy who bought a copy of the Mary Mapes book and doesn’t understand why it’s not ranked in the top 4,000,000 titles on Amazon.
12/8/2024 5:17 pm
Heh. Their criticism of you was based on the fact you used “incomplete reporting to question what he(Bradley) suggested was incomplete reporting.”
Take heart - they did say you’re looking “smarter by the minute.”
Thank you one more time for all your efforts, and your bravery in challenging this from the beginning. You are proving the adage “a pioneer is the guy with the arrows in his back” correct.
12/8/2024 5:20 pm
“Richard/Tom, I thought Richard said he’d tried to contact Erdeley a couple of times but got no response?”
If I had to guess I would say that was in “Aftermath”, by which time she surely knew who Richard Bradley was.
Here we go:
” When she has spoken, it’s conspicuously to mainstream media outlets, like NPR, that are likely to be more sympathetic to her. (Rubin Erdely has not responded to two emails I sent her.)”
12/8/2024 5:34 pm
I did reach out to Erdley, but after I’d written my original post—not because I felt like I had to, because I felt that the questions I had asked were getting more pressing.
12/8/2024 6:07 pm
Richard,
Her last name is Rubin Erdely.
12/8/2024 6:47 pm
What’s with the royal “We” in “We are going to offer…”, etc.? The column appears to be written by a single person, not some sort of group posting.
12/8/2024 9:18 pm
“Richard Bradley is an author who was born Richard Blow, but he changed his name, either because it led too easily to puerile jokes or because he wanted to get out from under the weight it carried after his 2002 unauthorized biography of John F. Kennedy Jr.”
Wow, talk about some detached reporting. Guess the puerile joke is on them now.
12/8/2024 9:46 pm
No one ever accused Bloomberg of unbiased or agenda-free reporting.
12/8/2024 9:54 pm
I suppose I could check the Slate stylebook but atthe WaPo she is “Erdely.
E.g., from their big Friday expose:
… Jackie said she asked Erdely to be taken out of the article. She said Erdely refused, and Jackie was told that the article would go forward regardless.
Jackie said she finally relented and agreed to participate on the condition that she be able to fact-check her parts in the story, which she said Erdely agreed to.”
Here is Hannah Rosin at Slate:
“But if Andy is to be believed, that means Jackie told an exaggerated story to Erdely, and that Erdely was all too happy to create an even more perfect victim…”
Well, Mr. Bradley has led before and may yet again if Rubin Erdely is her preferred name. But the crowd is heading in a different direction.
Maybe if she emailed him with that request…
12/8/2024 11:00 pm
It wasn’t in “Aftermath” that Bradley first mentioned having tried to contact Erdely, it was in “Where Is Sabrina Rubin Erdely?”.
Published on 2 December, it reads:
“I emailed her yesterday afternoon to see if she would answer some polite questions about her story.
“No response yet.
“I have emailed her again….
“Update, Tuesday at 10:18: Nothing yet from SRE, and I don’t expect to hear anything from her; nor do I expect to hear anything from her editor at Rolling Stone, Sean Woods, whom I also emailed.”