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An ethics quiz

You be the editor.

If you had the name of a man whom police identified as a "person of interest" in the notorious murder of a woman -- but he hadn't been named by police or arrested -- would you publish it?

Given the debate about the value of publishing vs. withholding information that we've had here before, it's an open question.

Here's another:

Then suppose you found a six-year-old police report filed by the ex-girlfriend of the suspect in which she alleged that he forced her to have sex with him when they were dating. What is your responsibility, if any, in protecting the identity of the ex-girlfriend, who really has nothing to do with the murder case. But her story certainly lays out some interesting background on the suspect. Do you publish?

True story. It's part of the case on murder of Yale grad student Annie Le. The managing editor of the New Haven Independent explains why she didn't publish the name of the person of interest or the ex-girlfriend's name until later.

It's real-life journalism ethics with real-life consequences. Did she do the right thing?

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