CNN, Fox News and MSNBC recently aired the name of the underage victim in the Steubenville rape trial during reports about the case.
Two high school football players were found guilty of raping a 16-year old girl in a controversial case in Steubenville, Ohio. The verdict was handed down on Sunday.
All three cable news networks aired a clip of one of the defendants, Trent Mays, apologizing to the victim in the courtroom. Mays had addressed the victim by name, which was not censored during CNN and MSNBC's broadcasts on Sunday and Fox News' broadcast on Monday. Local CBS affiliate WTRF also aired the clip without editing the victim's name out.
“I would truly like to apologize to [redacted], her family, my family and the community,” Mays said. “No picture should have been sent around, let alone even taken.”
As Raw Story, which reported on Fox News airing the victim's name on Monday, noted, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence encourages news outlets not to publish the names of minors alleging sexual abuse or rape, or to report information that will make the minors identifiable. Earlier, FoxNews.com had redacted the defendants' names in an Associated Press report about the Steubenville trial, saying in an editor's note, "The Associated Press named the minors charged due to the fact they have been identified in other news coverage and their names were used in open court. FoxNews.com will not name the defendants.”
CNN's coverage of the trial also came under fire on Sunday, for focusing on the effect the verdict will have on the defendants rather than the victim. The network, however, did edit the victim's name out during Monday's broadcast.
NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that CNN, MSNBC and CBS affiliate WTRF also aired the name of the victim during their broadcasts.
