| | Here are a few quotes from the Public Editor's inbox that resonated with us. You can share your questions and concerns with us through the NPR Contact page. |
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John M. Becker tweeted: As a gay man, I am shocked, disgusted, & saddened to see this kind of dangerous, baseless garbage from @NPR and @GBH. Gay dating/hookup/sex apps like Grindr, Scruff, & Jack'd pose no greater risk to minors than non-gay apps like Tinder, Bumble, & Hinge. |
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Member station WGBH has two reporters with significant expertise in reporting on sex trafficking, Jenifer McKim and Phillip Martin, who produced a solid, multipart investigative series about boys who are preyed upon by sex traffickers. The third part of the series focused exclusively on Grindr, as did a shorter version of that story, which was reworked for Morning Edition. Both stories emphasized in the headline that Grindr is a “popular gay dating app.” And even though an expert points out in both stories that it’s a homophobic myth that gay people are more likely to be sexual predators, that key piece of information comes after the initial framing that this problem is particularly bad on the gay dating app Grindr. In fact, boys are targeted for sex trafficking on many different dating apps, by both men and women, said Jose Alfaro, who serves as an adviser to the Human Trafficking Legal Center. WGBH told his story of being trafficked as a teenager as part of the series. And even though Alfaro recognizes the shortcoming, he tweeted strong support for the series and the reporters, after a critic suggested that it focused disproportionately on gay predators. “I 100% support these stories. And I see both sides,” Alfaro told me in a phone interview. “I understand why someone could feel like this is an attack on our community. We have always dealt with a lot of hate and when something goes wrong it’s easy to point the finger at a marginalized community.” After the series ran, Alfaro wrote a guest column in the Boston Globe to further draw attention to the plight of boy victims. He’s currently writing a book about his experience. WGBH journalist Jenifer McKim told me in a phone interview that as a reporter with experience working with trafficking victims, she set out to tell the public what happens to boys who are trafficked. “Our focus was on the more marginalized part of this already-marginalized community,” McKim said. In April, part I of their investigation defined the problem and documented one survivor’s story, and part II introduced more young survivors and explored the extra vulnerability for children who are brown and Black. The story on Grindr was the second story Morning Edition ran from the series; the first documented the problem of boys being trafficked for sex. “I just love getting the word out any way I can. I do my best to follow my editor’s instructions. Coming from the print world, I see the benefit of going national with a story like this,” McKim said. So why focus on Grindr? McKim said her sources pointed her in that direction. And her focus was on the victims, not the predators. Gay boys are disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking, she said, so she narrowed the focus to that group. Her story quotes Jack Turban, a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine saying, “Grindr is also at fault for knowing that this is happening and not doing anything about it.” And she quotes research. Her Morning Edition story says, “A 2018 Northwestern University study found more than half of sexually active gay and bisexual adolescent boys found sexual partners on Grindr and other apps. Grindr was by far the most popular, says lead researcher Kathryn Macapagal.” That Northwestern study focused exclusively on males who self-identified as gay, bisexual, pansexual or queer. Other dating apps would have likely shown up in the responses if the respondents mirrored the general population. To mitigate the suggestion that the problem is unique to Grindr, McKim also quotes Turban in both her GBH story and her NPR story, pointing out that the problem is not gay men and not just on Grindr. Here’s the Morning Edition transcript: TURBAN: If you look at the research, gay people aren’t more likely to be sexual predators than straight people. That is kind of like a common homophobic myth. MCKIM: But he says there’s likely hundreds of thousands of minors nationwide using Grindr and similar apps, and families and professionals need to talk to them about how to protect themselves online. He says people who take advantage of children should be held accountable, but adult-only apps should do more to restrict access. Many people in the gay community are afraid of losing Grindr, Alfaro told me. It’s an important tool for building community, learning about what it means to be gay and for LGBTQ sex workers to make a living, he said. “This is a problem within our own community, but not only our community, but every community,” he said. It would have been useful to include some straight male victims of sex trafficking in the story, he said, adding that straight men are even less likely to talk openly about sexual victimization. “Everything goes back to stigma with males,” Alfaro explained. “Some of them think, ‘Everyone will think I’m gay.’ And if I am gay, people will say that I wanted it. If I’m not gay people will ask, ‘Why couldn’t you defend yourself.’ ” The instinct to highlight the stories of male sex-trafficking victims was a strong journalistic choice, one that I commend. However, by focusing exclusively on Grindr, the story minimizes the extent to which boys are trafficked on other dating apps. I’m sure this won’t be the last time that NPR or GBH covers the topic of sex trafficking. Future stories are likely to bring even more context to the conversation. — Kelly McBride |
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The language we use to describe sexual assault |
Robert Schmidt writes: The line I object to [in this story about prisoners not eligible for compassionate release] is “says she was raped.” This phrase should be very rare. In this case it referred to a convicted person; the story had no reason to be circumspect. ... |
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The story you heard was a follow-up to a more in-depth look at the plight of Kent Clark, one of some 150 elderly federal prisoners who are not eligible for compassionate release because of a technicality in the law. Both stories were reported by Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson, who is about to receive a prestigious award for her work from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. I mention this because it is exactly this type of story that has garnered Johnson praise from those who advocate for justice. These particular stories are about Clark’s fate. He suffers from a plethora of medical conditions, including dementia. He has maintained his innocence, although he was convicted of a kidnapping-extortion that took place in 1985, in which multiple men abducted a postal worker, stole his uniform and gained entry to a banker’s home. According to an AP article on this case, they held the banker’s mother-in-law and daughter captive, and attempted to extort $200,000. At the time of the investigation, no biological evidence connected Clark to the crime scene. Clark was sentenced to life in prison on the testimony of another man involved in the crime (who, in exchange, got five years in prison). Johnson’s NPR story asserts that prosecutors viewed Clark as a more serious threat because they said he raped the banker’s daughter during the crime, and the judge cited her testimony in imposing the life sentence. The biological evidence in the case has all been lost or destroyed, making DNA testing impossible. Johnson tracked down the rape survivor to get her opinion on Clark’s request for a compassionate release. The full line in the story is: “NPR reached out to the woman who says she was raped. She said Clark has served the best years of his life in prison, and if he has all these other health problems, he cannot hurt anybody else.” Johnson told me in an email, “There is a question about whether Kent Clark is the one who raped her ... he, his attorney, and his family members maintain his innocence.” I agree that the phrase “who says she was raped” was unnecessary, because it casts doubt on the survivor. Instead, it could have read, “NPR reached out to the woman who was raped in the attack.” — Kelly McBride |
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The Public Editor spends a lot of time examining moments where NPR fell short. Yet we also learn a lot about NPR by looking at work that we find to be compelling and excellent journalism. Here we share a line or two about the pieces where NPR shines. |
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From hurricanes to floods to fires, it’s a lot of work to keep up with the news. NPR’s coverage has helped keep readers and listeners updated about the disasters happening in the U.S. and around the world. With Hurricane Ida in particular, NPR has published tips for staying safe and informed about the storm and its aftermath. It has also provided larger context, like its impact on hospitals, especially during the pandemic. And the hurricane’s devastation can be seen in each photo of this look at the damage it has caused. — Kayla Randall |
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| | The Office of the Public Editor is a team. Researchers Amaris Castillo and Kayla Randall make this newsletter possible. Illustrations are by Carlos Carmonamedina. We are still reading all of your messages on Facebook, Twitter and from our inbox. As always, keep them coming. Kelly McBride NPR Public Editor Chair, Craig Newmark Center for Ethics & Leadership at the Poynter Institute |
Kelly McBride, Public Editor |
| | Amaris Castillo, Poynter Institute |
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The Public Editor stands as a source of independent accountability. Created by NPR's board of directors, the Public Editor serves as a bridge between the newsroom and the audience, striving to both listen to the audience's concerns and explain the newsroom's work and ambitions. The office ensures NPR remains steadfast in its mission to present fair, accurate and comprehensive information in service of democracy. Read more from the NPR Public Editor, contact us, or follow us on Twitter. |
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