Category: News

I’m enormously surprised and gratified by the impact of my story last month on sex offense reports at the University of Missouri. From the article’s syndication in the Associated Press, to the MU police department’s change in how it publicly address sex offenses, to my stint as a panelist on NPR, this story has garnered far more attention than any of my other investigations, and I’m still preening.

Hundreds of readers shared it on social media, making it the Missourian’s most-read story that month. I think that shows how much this issue – the lack of reports, and, subsequently, prosecutions, of sex offenses – touches a nerve and affects so many people. The most touching feedback came from a victim and a university official, who both told me how how my reporting elucidated problems they had personally experienced.

Besides the subject matter, this article was difficult due to the astonishing amount of pushback my editor and I received from university officials. I’m happy to say that after its publication, we’ve had no corrections or blowback from those officials. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, edited, supported, shared or critiqued!