Bill Cosby starred in “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s and 1990s as America’s Dad every week on NBC for eight seasons.  He  was the father of an upper class African American family living in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The sitcom had comedy relief, but also dealt with serious subjects. Cosby was seen as a role model because of the way he dealt with topics in the show that affected kids watching.

The rape allegations first surfaced in 2005 because of a civil suit brought to light by Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University. She looked up to Cosby as a mentor and would often have dinners at his house. When she went over his house in 2004 for one of the routine suppers, he drugged her and sexually assaulted her. When she claimed that she could bring forward a dozen more women who would testify against Cosby that they were in similar circumstances, he settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money.

It is hard for news sources to cover a topic like this because at first, it was one women against a comedian/actor who has a powerful role in the media. Without more evidence, the allegations could be lies. Excessive coverage could then lead to a journalist tarnishing the reputation of an American hero.  This is because the minds of America would not believe that Bill Cosby could go against his morals off camera and be a lovable father on set. It is important to have the story straight before telling it. If the District Attorney was not able to arrest Cosby because of lack of evidence, than news broadcasters risked destroying their own careers for the same reason. To avoid that, they waited to report until the deposition was released to the public and more women confessed about being molested.