'Me, too'

We don't even know what the alleged sexual assault entailed. We don't know if Reese Witherspoon is properly applying the term.

 

Yes, Dick. I understand that.

Imprecise in the absence of an accused, but not incorrect.

If you want to impute motive to all these papers and websites, mazel tov.

Probably just easier to acknowledge that it came across the wire that way and no one bothered to change it.

 

There are bylines on every story.

 

Then, like Lena Dunham, she will be revealed a liar.

 

We don't know that you are either, but here we all are.

 

No, she isn't. She didn't give a name. She's saying something happened to her. How can she accuse someone of a crime when she doesn't actually make an accusation against a specific person? I thought you were a lawyer with a kick ass resume. Shouldn't you know this stuff?

As a point of journalism, I would have used said or alleged as the verb, but in this narrow part of the argument, you are incorrect. She didn't name the abuser, so she really didn't accuse anybody of a crime.

 

In terms of journalism, yes, you are.

 

So best journalism practices:

1) Assume truth of statement.

2) Wait for statement to be proven true or false.

3) Clean up as necessary.

That's ... odd.

 

Yep. It's really unwise in cases like these.

But this kind of stuff is dead in journalism. Gone.

 

You have a point and the choice of verb could definitely be better, but Dickie isn't exactly right in the way he framed the argument, either.

 

As journalism practice, it's not 100%.

As I said, it's imprecise.

But in the absence of an accused, I'm less inclined to stickle over the word "reveals."

"Claims," "alleges," etc., ad inf., are all implied.

 

Bess gave in because she was afraid that Truman would, eventually, drop the bomb on her if she didn't surrender unconditionally.