‘She didn’t have credibility anymore’: The moment Rolling Stone’s U-Va. rape story unraveled

Blogging the latest developments in a story I use in my journalism classes.

“When I got off the phone, I felt like the ground had shifted from under my feet,” Erdely said. “The person I had talked to was not the person I was familiar with from my story. I felt that she didn’t have credibility anymore, which meant that we couldn’t stand behind anything that she had given me.” Wiping away tears, Erdely confirmed that she left a voice mail with Jackie telling her that if she didn’t believe in her story, she should not go to the police. She then drafted an email to her editors explaining that she no longer had faith in Jackie’s story and telling them it should be retracted. The subject line read simply: “Our worst nightmare.” —The Washington Post