There was a lot of fuss last week over the revelation that former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered an illegitimate child with a member of his domestic staff. In the repellent media race to identify the love child's mother, Gawker named and included photographs of a woman and a child who, as it turned out, were not involved in the affair.The LA Times' entertainment blog reported the Gawker incident, including quotes from the shameless gossip blog's writer and editor. What's striking is the indifference the two Gawker employees had to relentlessly invade someone's privacy, parade their name into the public awareness, and provide a half-hearted apology when their noxious error became obvious.
Good journalism is a tough job; gossip journalism is just a dirty one. However, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit I read juicy stories about stupid celebrities, venal politicians, or hypocritical prelates, or arrogant attorneys. Sometimes, a little schadenfraude feels so good.
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