University of Illinois Is Stifling NPR Reporting on Sexual Misconduct, Critics Say

The Better Government Association, the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois News Broadcasters Association have also sent letters opposing the policy.

On Monday, senior lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union sent the board another letter. The lawyers, Rebecca K. Glenberg and Sandra S. Park, argued that it was crucial to allow people who experienced harassment or assault to seek help or publicize their stories without setting off an investigation.

They wrote:

A survivor of sexual misconduct may choose to confide in a reporter for any number of reasons. They may want their story to help others in similar circumstances but do not want to be further identified for fear of retaliation. They may know that their experience is representative of a larger issue that should be more widely known. They may simply be uncomfortable invoking the university’s formal accountability mechanisms. In any case, the university should not close off this option for confidential disclosure.

But the university has not budged. In a statement, Thomas P. Hardy, a University of Illinois spokesman, wrote that “making sure that all employees report any instance of sexual misconduct is part of how we protect students.”

“We have reviewed the legal and policy implications,” the statement said. “The University of Illinois system has determined that requiring media employees to adhere to the ‘responsible employee’ reporting requirements is in the best interest of our students and would not violate any constitutional or other legal protections.”

For the time being, ProPublica, which is not subject to the university’s rules, is screening the stories being submitted, and said it would not share the information with NPR employees if doing so would go against the source’s wishes.

Mary Hansen, an editor for the project at NPR Illinois, said that the university had not asked the station to identify sources for work that was already published. But the policy was preventing journalists from working on potential follow-up stories.

“This is having an effect on our reporting right now,” she said.

Ms. Hansen was planning to travel to Chicago on Thursday to voice her concerns at a meeting of the university’s board of trustees.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/business/media/npr-university-of-illinois-aclu-sexual-misconduct.html?emc=rss&partner=rss