Al Tompkins, broadcast/online group leader at the Poynter Institute journalism school, said he has heard of newspaper Web sites being hijacked before, but not reporter's e-mail identities. However, cyberspace vandalism and harassment aren't sufficient reasons for blocking Internet access to news, he said. The fact that the Register hasn't "been slimed" before now just means the newspaper has been lucky, he said. "If there ever was a red-hot beat that would attract the nuts of the world, writing about faith, values and religion is one. I would argue that your beat has more incendiary potential than anybody's," Tompkins said. [...] Added Tompkins: "In the times we live in, information moves quickly. Today anyone can be a publisher and anyone can send anybody anything. But it's not so different than it was 100 years ago when people made up stories about Old West characters for dime novels. The false stories ran faster than the true stories. Then, like now, fleas come in with the dog." More of this article... Search Google News for more quotes by Al Tompkins...
