River North prof sues news media over accusatory headline

27-Feb-14 – A professor of philosophy who lives in River North is suing four local news outlets over stories with a headline that, he says, incorrectly suggests he committed rape.

Dr. Peter Ludlow (left), who teaches at Northwestern University and is considered one of the leading researchers of conceptual issues in virtual worlds, filed the $30,000 lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on February 14.

Four days earlier, the Chicago Sun-Times published an article with the headline, “Student allegedly raped by professor suing Northwestern University.” The story was also published on the websites of Fox 32 News and radio station WLS, which is owned by Cumulus Broadcasting.

Though Ludlow has been accused of sexual harassment and assault, allegations he denies, the claims have not included rape. The headline was revised the next day but tweets about the story still included the word “rape,” according to the suit, as did the URL of the revised story – and the original story was still visible on at least one website.

The student’s lawsuit claims Northwestern retaliated against her for a formal complaint she made against Ludlow in 2012. The university investigated and in a 21-page report concluded that after the two attended an art show in February 2012, there may have been unwelcome advances such as back rubbing and kissing, in addition to the 57-year-old professor allegedly drinking with a 19-year-old student not of legal drinking age.

Sun Times Media, Cumulus Broadcasting, WLS, and Fox Television Stations are named in the suit. Ludlow claims defamation and privacy invasion.

Photo by International Journalism Festival.