Hackers Infiltrate Palin's Email

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/17/AR2008091703304.html

An online group identifying itself only as Anonymous, best known for its involvement with Scientology, has hacked in the Sarah Palin's private Yahoo email account. They were able to view and obtain emails, Palin's contact list, and family photos, which have already been leaked to the World Wide Web in less than 24 hours. This information has already been dispersed everywhere from news sites to blogs. It is so easily accessible that I am able to post pictures on this fledgling news blog for Professor Colen's Newswriting seminar.

This single event calls to the attention of the American public that this may serve as evidence that the GOP vice presidential candidate has improperly used private email to shield government business from public scrutiny. The episode sheds light on Palin's turbulent relationship with the media as the writers remind readers of Palin's potential entanglement with the termination of Alaska's Safety Commissioner, Walter Monegan. The McCain campaign only issued one statement publicizing that authorities would be taking over the situation.

Michael Shear and Karl Vick, WP Staff Writers, strategically outlined the news story, with their lead and the most grabbing details of the story at the top. As the reader follows this lengthy 2-paged story, the details of the story unfold, introducing new characters and supporting quotes. Towards the end of the news story, Shear and Vick write about Palin's drafted emails and personal and business contact lists. The tone of their writing aims to be serious and weighty, which is proven by the writers' use of the last quote of a no-name director of one of the many Internet security companies in the country, who fervently hopes that the hackers will pay their dues for this unthinkable atrocity to Web etiquette.

What may seem like a humorous event is deemed a grave act on human-web relationships, and as these images will be seen all over the Web as every user will upload them, Shear and Vick will continue to masquerade this as a breaking news political story of the '08 Election. This article should have been a one-page outliner, without unnecessary quotes and insignificant details. However, one interesting thing that the Washington Post does with all their articles - they underline key words or phrases, providing links to related stories on that topic. So if I wanted to know more about what the media, more specifically the WP, has published about the GOP's beloved Vice Presidential candidate in the past two and a half weeks, there is an archive of related news stories.

While hackers will continue to take over the Web, the best that any of us can do is to appreciate the real substance of newsworthy stories - this is not one of them.