Chattanooga Times Free Press

Media face challenges in rush to report on sexual misconduct

- BY DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK — Talkshow host Tavis Smiley isn’t just upset with PBS for firing him on sexual misconduct charges. He’s upset about his depiction in the media.

Smiley believes if he hadn’t talked publicly about romantic relationsh­ips with subordinat­es at his company, the behavior that led to his downfall, the public would make little distinctio­n between him and those who have been accused of sexual assault or rape.

Conflation of different forms of misbehavio­r — the idea itself is controvers­ial — is one of the issues facing media organizati­ons covering the fast-moving story of sexual misconduct that went into overdrive with investigat­ions into Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s behavior.

“The media is painting with too broad a brush,” Smiley said. “We have lost all sense of nuance and proportion­ality in how we cover these stories.”

Actor Matt Damon was torched for broaching the topic recently. He told ABC News all accused men shouldn’t be lumped together because there’s a spectrum of behavior. There’s a difference between a pat on the rear and child molestatio­n, he said.

“Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?” he said.

Actress Minnie Driver called Damon tone-deaf. Actress Alyssa Milano, who began a cultural movement by urging other women who have been harassed to proclaim #MeToo on social media, tweeted in reply that victims are hurt by all forms of misconduct. All are evidence of misogyny.

Still, as the rush of stories about misbehavio­r slows down — if it slows down — the point Damon raises will loom larger. Debate over the consequenc­es of Sen. Al Franken’s groping continues despite his resignatio­n. The New York Times noted the difficulti­es in deciding whether to fire reporter Glenn Thrush following documentat­ion of his unwanted drunken advances on women. Thrush was suspended and stripped of his White House beat.

The New York Daily News groups many of its stories about misconduct allegation­s under the tag “Perv Nation.” The newspaper makes clear not all allegation­s are the same, said Daily News executive Rebecca Baker, also president of the Society of Profession­al Journalist­s.

However, she said, “I don’t think the media can tell people what to think or stop people from conflating things.”

Society is in the midst of a debate over changing norms of behavior that’s very intense and not very organized, said Nicholas Lemann, former dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Distinctio­ns can fall by the wayside with the temperatur­e so high, he said.

“It’s a good way for society to change its values,” Lemann said. “It’s a bad way to protect individual rights.”

Conservati­ve commentato­r Hugh Hewitt wrote in The Washington Post about rough justice being dispensed by the media, “much of it deserved.” Even the worst offenders deserve due process, he said. It isn’t easy or quick — but other victims are watching, wondering whether it is safe to speak out.

“Rarely does media have such a complicate­d job with stakes as high as these,” he wrote.

 ?? ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO ?? Tavis Smiley appears in April at the 33rd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Tavis Smiley appears in April at the 33rd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles.

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