UN Congo Sex Scandal: LA Times Responds

In my post of Nov. 27 post, LA Times Squelches U.N. Congo Sex Story (scroll down), I speculated about why reference to the rape of 150 12-15 year old girls had been dropped so quickly from their coverage. Reporter Maggie Farley answered the question, e-mailing me:

Much more is coming on the Congo exploitation story. You are wrong to try to read anything into it not being mentioned in the story about attempts to maintain a Central African peace agreement. We kept the focus narrow because of space constraints.

I sometimes feel as cynical as the reporters and editors I used to work with ... I can't help but think that other stories on other subjects would have included a reference -- you know, Abu Ghraib references in Guantanamo stories, that kind of thing.

But undeniably, Maggie is to be commended for breaking this story. It's a shame so many other MSM have not yet given it the coverage it deserves.