But it's silly to maintain that this isn't a complex situation with no gray areas. In Nolan's case, the gray areas include the reporter's notification of her editors about her stock trade and her assignment to write a freelance article about it for Fortune magazine. These issues don't make what Nolan did right, but they ought to give anyone pause before passing a definitive judgment on these events. The journalists are understandably eager to bolster their profession's reputation. But in their zeal, they are reacting to Nolan's lapse with an almost comical self-righteousness.
Conflicts of interest are most dangerous when they're least obvious.
For more columns by Rosenberg, visit his column archive. Technology journalists aren't supposed to own stock in the companies they cover. A San Jose Mercury News columnist's suspension reveals less about ethics than about the newsroom's changing balance of power. All rights reserved.