When you are in the media business, it’s usually a bad thing when your name is in the headlines. For Will Dana, the soon to be former editor of Rolling Stone, it doesn’t get much worse. Dana recently resigned – he says voluntarily – in the wake of a massive reporting scandal.
The scandal first landed in the news cycle after the November publication of “A Rape on Campus,” a story that supposedly revealed a horrific account of gang rape at the University of Virginia. However, after an investigation, it was determined the rape never actually happened. Investigators also learned the account relied entirely on a single, spurious, anonymous account.
Fallout was immediate and widespread. Not only was the publication openly lampooned by nearly everyone with a byline as well as TV news, comedy shows and talk radio. The aftereffects gave deniers a solid case to cite when making claims that many campus rape stories are fabricated. While this scenario does not, in fact, imply that, it will not stop people from saying it and using that commentary to affect the national dialog on campus safety.
Worse, due to the way people consume Internet news, both the initial spurious story and the flawed extrapolation can become “fact” online.
Dana’s decision, unsurprisingly, did not allude to the rape story. His release said, simply, that, after nineteen years, it was time to move on. “I loved it more than I imagined I would.”
Right, so after two decades of “loving it” you suddenly decide it’s time to go. Nobody is buying that. But Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner doubled down, calling Dana “one of the finest editors I have every worked with.”
According to NY based entrepreneur Jonah Engler, “this is exactly the sort of PR you expect when a company in crisis has chosen a top level manager to fall on his or her sword. It’s not unwise, and may not be a bad deal for anyone involved. There’s no doubt in this situation and any others, someone will have to pay the piper. Since the scandal happened on Dana’s watch, the fault lands on his doorstep. Not that anyone can honestly blame him for the reporter’s horrific judgment and gross negligence … but they have.
That admission should be enough for the most of the boo birds online, but it will definitely not be enough for the folks at Virginia who are looking for a big payday out of the deal. The damages will hurt the publisher and his investors, but the PR damages should be mollified now that at least one head has rolled.
