Since we seem to be having a media ethics day in Portland, here’s an idea of what newspapers are up against: When somebody says something about somebody being gay in a tribute to them, and then all traces of having said so disappear from the internet, who’s responsible? Nobody, it seems. Or at least, nobody who’s willing to say so. These things just happen. Local blogger Kevin Allman has the scoop, along with an interview with the Hollywood Reporter writer whose content got “disappeared.” Allman writes:

I don’t care a fig about Merv Griffin, but I damn sure do care when journalism is ‘vanished’ from the Internet, whether it’s political speech or anything else.

Me too. Fortunately I’ve just googled “duct tape” and “The Portland Business Alliance are evil fascist bastards,” and they’re both still turning up plenty of results. Thank Goodness for a free press, eh?