Why The Mainstream Media Should Interview Tara Reade

Although former Biden staffer Tara Reade’s allegations of sexual assault were first detailed in a podcast way back in late March, it was not until April 12 that they received mainstream coverage in the form of accounts written in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Since then, many of the other major players in news media have followed suit in covering the issue, including the Associated Press, Politico, and the Atlantic.

From the amount of press they have received in the past few weeks, you would think that the allegations would be considered by most of the media to be a newsworthy event. Yet there are some glaring anomalies: with the exception of Fox News, none of the major news networks have picked up on the story to nearly the same extent. This is especially concerning given that the person being accused is the presumptive Democratic nominee; in addition, the recent #MeToo movement has arguably encouraged the mainstream media to be more thorough in its coverage of allegations against public figures, Brett Kavanaugh being a recent example.

What, then, is the reason for the relative silence?

Conservative media would have you believe that it is due to two reasons: one, the Reade allegations are against a prominent Democrat. And two, the mainstream media, being generally left-leaning, would rather refrain from covering the allegations than risk damaging the reputation of Joe Biden in the middle of his campaign. Yet as Politico contributor Jack Shafer notes, it is mostly broadcast networks that are keeping mum; traditionally liberal print outlets like the Times and the Post have already dedicated plenty of column inches to the topic.

In fact, the predicament that the networks are in largely stems from this contrast with print media. The networks cannot reasonably claim that Reade’s allegations are not newsworthy, since the story has been picked up by so many outlets at this point. And from the facts of the story it would seem like the the allegations are inherently newsworthy; it’s not often that a former vice-president is accused of sexual assault, no matter how disreputable the accuser may seem to his supporters. To refuse to cover an event such as this would be to claim that the allegations are categorically untrue. If there was even a possibility of them being true, wouldn’t they deserve coverage?

Covering an allegation is not the same as believing it, but it simply shows that the media is taking a serious claim seriously. Continuing to give Reade the silent treatment would be an irresponsible move on the part of the networks and would open them up to charges of hypocrisy, charges that conservative or leftist outlets would be only too eager to make. In order not to damage their credibility with the public, these networks — CNN, MSNBC, NBC, and the rest — should jump at the chance to interview Tara Reade.