HOW ABOUT WE START KEEPING OUR FACTS FACTUAL? :: Simply Jimmy D :: Breakin' News or Breakin' Balls: It's all the same to me!

jimmyd _writes "All the shit-slinging that’s been going on between porn journalists has got me to thinking. Maybe some really basic lessons in journalism need to be taught to some of the word-smiths in this biz.

Since I just finished picking on the reporting team at AdultFYI.com in my previous article, I thought it would only be fair to use a current report running on AVN.com as an example.

In a current article with the headline, “Report: Lara Roxxx to Sue U.S. Producers,” the AVN reporter writes, “Roxxx contracted the virus from Darren James after performing in a double anal scene with he and Mark Anthony on March 24. She had just started performing in U.S. video productions in February after being primarily an Internet performer.”

First off, no one knows--absolutely and for sure--that Roxx (is it Roxx or Roxxx?) contracted HIV from Darren James. Certainly, there is much speculation to that end; and certainly that speculation has a statistical and medical foundation to its claim. But no one—not AIM, not AVN, not Roxx’s attorney—knows for sure if that is what happened.

I’ve also read some speculation that says Darren James may have contracted HIV from Lara Roxx. And I should point out that there has been some statistical and medical data to also support this claim.

My guess is that--if and when Lara Roxx’s case comes to trial--it will be her attorney’s job to first prove that she contracted HIV from James and/or on the set where she worked with James. Conversely, it will be James’s attorney’s job (or the attorney representing the producer of the movie Roxx performed in with James) to convince a jury that she did not contract, or might not have contracted, HIV from James on that particular set.

But AVN reports that “Roxxx contracted the virus from Darren James.” And they report this without any disclaimer or without modifying that assertion.

Considering the fact that AVN is perceived as the OFFICIAL VOICE of the Adult Entertainment Industry, it’s my opinion that publishing statements (as if they were proven facts) like “Roxxx contracted the virus from Darren James,” is completely irresponsible.

So here’s a word some of you journalists might consider using when publishing stuff like this; especially when there are legal ramifications:

ALLEGE: tr.v. al•leged, al•leg•ing, al•leg•es

1. To assert to be true; affirm: alleging his innocence of the charge.
2. To assert without or before proof: The indictment alleges that the commissioner took bribes.
3. To state (a plea or excuse, for example) in support or denial of a claim or accusation: The defendant alleges temporary insanity.
4. Archaic. To bring forward as an authority.

As an example, AVN could have published the same article, but used sentences like this: “Allegedly, Roxx contracted the virus from Darren James,” or “Roxx alleges she contracted HIV from James,” or even “It is alleged that Roxx contracted the virus from James.”

This shit is Journalism 101 guys!

You see, when you’re an authority figure, like AVN, and you make unsubstantiated statements that you purport to be fact, you seem as if you’re taking a position on that matter. And that’s called an opinion piece... an editorial piece…like what I normally write here on this site.

And that’s different from reporting the facts.

And you want to know what else? I don't think I'd be going to far out on a limb to imagine Darren James, at some point down the line, engaging an attorney to sue the publishers of statements-reported-as-fact like, "“Roxxx contracted the virus from Darren James after performing in a double anal scene with he and Mark Anthony on March 24."

Capiche?

"


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