Lookin' for ... oh, shut up

Further evidence that journalistic competition, rather than broadening the range of stories and voices placed before the eager democratic public, generally involves a frantic race to the same point at the bottom of the pit. When the Tampa paper puts its quarter in the jukebox and plays a chorus of "doing what no teacher should," how do you think St. Pete should answer?

... the 29-year-old has joined the ranks of notorious educators who are household names for all the wrong reasons.

Sigh. For one thing, "household name" isn't amenable to a speech act. An appropriate authority can make you "married" by saying so, but a newspaper (ah, the power of the press!) can't make you a "household name." For another, this teacher isn't accused of faking her credentials, likening the 9/11 victims to "little Eichmanns," going armed to the terror of the public or any of a zillion "wrong reasons" but one: having sex with students.

It's tempting to suggest again that it'd be nice to have some news on the front page, but today's dominant news across the region seems to be the sentencing of a professional wrestler's son. Well, never mind the BurmChinese earthquake. No, leave the rooster alone!