With No Conviction, How Should Allegations Of Sexual Abuse Be Treated?
Ronan Farrow on how to report on celebrities, like his father Woody Allen, accused of sexual assault.
Ronan Farrow (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for HBO)
Very often, women with allegations do not or cannot bring charges. Very often, those who do come forward pay dearly, facing off against a justice system and a culture designed to take them to pieces. A reporter’s role isn’t to carry water for those women. But it is our obligation to include the facts, and to take them seriously. Sometimes, we’re the only ones who can play that role.
Confronting a subject with allegations from women or children, not backed by a simple, dispositive legal ruling is hard. It means having those tough newsroom conversations, making the case for burning bridges with powerful public figures. It means going up against angry fans and angry publicists.
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— Ronan Farrow, lawyer and host of NBC’s “Undercovered With Ronan Farrow,” on the role that journalists should play in reporting on famous people, like his father Woody Allen or Bill Cosby, who have been accused of sexual assault. These cases don’t always have an easy, final judgment for reporters to use in covering the celebrity, but failing to include the allegations may set a dangerous example.
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