Fair Warning: A Comparison of Police and Newspaper Reports about Rape

Abstract

Journalists avoid identifying rape victims. Incestuous rapes pose additional problems to traditional news story forms since the victim's identity can be guessed if the alleged incestuous rapist's name is publicized. This comparison of newspaper reports against police reports showed newspapers treat incestuous rapes as non-events. News of other types of rape also was highly selective and could mislead potential victims. The authors offer a “model” incestuous rape story for editors' consideration.