A Magazine by the Society of Professional Journalists



September 24th, 2003 • Quill Archives
Privacy and the ‘fear factor’

Privacy. It’s a far-reaching, powerfully confusing concept. So sharp and tangled with strong opinions and emotion, debates on privacy are easily reduced to oversimplified squabbles. Privacy protection is one of those hot-button issues that often fails to bring about a healthy discussion, giving way instead to the clamor of fear and mistrust.


September 23rd, 2003 • Quill Archives
Letting fingers do the walking

Betty “BJ” Ostergren is on a crusade. Like many citizens, she wants to keep personal information, found in public records, off the Internet. But unlike most citizens, she is doing something about it. Her crusade began last year, when she heard the court clerk in Loudoun County, Va.,