Caleb Hannan

Caleb Hannan is an American freelance writer and sports journalist.

Controversy

Ann Rule

In June 2013, when Hannan was employed as editor of Seattle Weekly, true crime author Ann Rule sued the newspaper for "defamation" over an article about domestic violence victim Liysa Northon who is notorious in Oregon for having killed her abusive husband, written by Rick Swart, which alleged that Rule made up claims about Northon in her (Rule's) 2003 book Heart Full of Lies and had never met or interviewed Northon, contrary to what the book implied. In addition to suing the newspaper, Rule sued the author of the article, Swart, the editor, Hannan, and another person.[1]

On February 24 and 25, 2014, a judge made two rulings dismissing the claims, finding that Rule's suit violated a Washington state law barring lawsuits that target the legal exercise of free speech and public participation, and that Rule had not established there were any false, defamatory statements about her in the article. The judge awarded Caleb Hannan, Rick Swart, the newspaper and one other defendant $10,000 each in damages, plus attorneys fees and costs.[2][3] “Rule admitted that she never interviewed Liysa or members of her immediate family,” said Swart.[4]

Story of Essay Anne Vanderbilt

He was caught in a transgender community controversy in early 2014[5][6] for writing an article published on Grantland called Dr. V's Magical Putter[7] in which he chronicles his pursuit of the identity of Essay Anne Vanderbilt while investigating her golf-related inventions. To her golf company's investors, Vanderbilt falsely held herself out to be a doctor and physicist. Hannan's reporting drew varied criticism, including his characterization of Vanderbilt's life story as "strange" and "bizarre",[5] the fact that he wrote the article despite Vanderbilt threatening him and telling him not to publish any of her true background information, including that Vanderbilt was a fraud (not a doctor). Vanderbilt had claimed very openly, to her investors and to Hannan, to have degrees from MIT and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and to be a relative of shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. Hannan had discovered that everything Vanderbilt told him about herself was a lie: she had never attended MIT or Wharton, and had no college degree or physicist credentials. In fact, Hannan established that "Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt" was born Stephen Krol in 1953 in Philadelphia, had been a mechanic at a gas station in Pennsylvania, had no scientific qualifications, and had transitioned from male to female at age 50, after leaving her second wife and children in Pennsylvania and moving to Arizona. Vanderbilt committed suicide before the article was published; she had previously attempted suicide in 2008.[5][7][8][9][10] After the story was published, members of the transgender activist community called Hannan a "bigot", a "murderer" and a "transphobe" for discovering and writing the truth about "Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt". Hannan was also subject to death threats and had his personal home address posted on the internet.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Associated Press (July 23, 2013). "Ann Rule sues Seattle newspaper for negative review by fiance of convicted killer Liysa Northon". The Post-Standard. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Ann Rule Lawsuit Against Seattle Weekly Tossed". February 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Court throws out Ann Rule's defamation court case". March 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ann Rule Loses To Rick Swart". February 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lees, Paris (19 January 2014). "Is It OK for a Journalist to Reveal the Birth Gender of a Trans Person?". Vice. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Kahrl, Christina (20 January 2014). "What Grantland Got Wrong". Grantland. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hannan, Caleb. "Dr V's Magical Putter". Grantland. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Robert Stacy McCain (January 19, 2014). "Journalist @CalebHannan Exposes Sociopath and Is Accused of Transphobia". The Other McCain. Retrieved April 22, 2015. On Oct. 18, 2013, MIT-trained aeronautical physicist Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt – a former Pentagon contractor who had worked on the Stealth bomber project — committed suicide, which must have been difficult: It’s hard to kill a person you invented... Except “Dr. V” had no such knowledge and was not a Ph.D. Never attended MIT. Apparently had no college degree at all.
  9. ↑ James Kirchick (January 22, 2014). "Pressuring Journalists Won’t Protect Transgender People". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 22, 2015. Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt, or Dr. V. She claimed to be a career-long private contractor for the Department of Defense who had worked on top-secret projects like the construction of the stealth bomber. She said she had earned degrees at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She claimed to be a descendant of none other than Cornelius Vanderbilt, the American shipping tycoon. But none of that was true. In the course of his reporting, Hannan discovered that practically everything Dr. V had told him about her life was a lie. She had never enrolled at MIT or Wharton. Hannan could find no evidence that she ever lived in Washington, or volunteered at Walter Reed hospital, as she had claimed.
  10. ↑ Caleb Hannan (January 15, 2014). "Dr. V’s Magical Putter". Grantland. Retrieved April 22, 2015. Over the course of what was now eight months of reporting, Dr. V had accused me of being everything from a corporate spy to a liar and a fraud. She had also threatened me. One of the quotes I was able to type down during our last conversation was this: “You have no idea what I have done and what I can do.” It’s not all that menacing when transcribed, but her tone made it clear she believed she could harm me.
  11. ↑ James Kirchick (January 22, 2014). "Pressuring Journalists Won’t Protect Transgender People". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 22, 2015. Countless others are tarring Hannan as a “murderer” and a “bigot;” he has received multiple death threats.