Report: Penn State sexual abuse allegations biggest sports scandal since 2007
Nov. 15, 2011 3:12 p.m.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism has released findings that an investigation of sexual abuse against children by a former Penn State coach was not only the second most popular news story last week, but it is also the biggest scandal to hit sports since the September 2007 arrest of football great O. J. Simpson.
Poynter’s Steve Myers writes, “The heaviest coverage was on TV, in part due to the protests that followed Joe Paterno’s firing. But Penn State wasn’t the biggest story last week — that would be the Herman Cain sexual harassment allegations. Dylan Stableford reports that Bob Costas received “swift, loud and overwhelmingly positive” assessments for his Monday night interview with Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant coach charged with sexual abuse against children. Costas “had all the facts at his command, was ready with the right follow-up questions, and just kept giving Sandusky rope that the alleged pedophile seemed happy to hang himself with,” writes Alan Sepinwall.
