SportsFanLive.com Exclusive: Sex Offense Clouds NFL Draft Status Of Lineman

No. I saw it here first. Then SportsbyBrooks and today Deadspin.
The circ. started here.

 

In your universe.

 

This image Is appropriate for

A. This thread
B. The OP's SportsJournalists.com debut
C. OP's journalism career
D. Anti-incest laws

 

So give the timeline of the story hitting the web and how do you know she didn't self-promote with those outlets? A google search only links to stories after she posted here.

 

Jenna,
I hope you don't think all the posters here are picking on you for sport. I'm guessing you're a young reporter, maybe fresh out of school, and you came across this incredible story and jumped on it. And you had some good instincts: quoting the expert helped clarify some of the important issues you hoped to raise.

But this is the kind of story that screamed for a second pair of eyes. You needed an editor (or an entire desk) to raise the questions we've mentioned here. You probably could have used an in-house lawyer who understands journalism issues. This story should never have run as written, with so many ethical holes. Assuming you didn't have a proper editor (not many blogs do), you might have reached out to a journalism professor for help, or a mentoring service (Poynter, AWSM, etc.) for general guidance. Instead the story has gone viral, possibly damaging an innocent victim.

I do hope you haven't been scared off from here, as it can also be a great resource despite the occasional snarkiness. When you're up for it, it would be appreciated if you could answer some of our concerns. (Ignore the silly crap; most of us do.) If nothing else, it might help some of the other young journos on this site who don't yet understand some of the legal and ethical issues you faced.

 

I don't like the fact that the story/link was posted by the author, but I do think this is a well-written story that entertains and tantalizes, all at once.
The criticisms levied here are valid, for sure, and the question of outing the sister is something to think about.
But defintely a good scoop, Jenna.
(If you wait long enough, usually something like this is going to show up here anyway.)
Most of the more visible members of the board love this sort of story.

 

Great scoop, yeah pat yourselves on the back. At what cost? Oh nothing, just a woman's private life. But no big deal, right? All so you can debate whether sex among underage siblings warrants a lifetime sex offender label or not. Great reflection of our society.

 

This thread has gone into re-runs.

 

Someody was going to get that scoop.
And it's an interesting story.

Am I happy about the way is showed up on this board? No.
Did it deserve another set of eyes? Yes.
But the reporter got a good scoop is all I'm saying.