The temptations of MySpace journalism: the Ipswich killings investigation

Mr Tom Stephens of Ipswich was arrested early this morning for further questioning in connection with the killings of five women whose bodies were found in the Ipswich area.

The news have been awash with this gripping story for weeks now, and as Mr. Stephens's house was being cordoned off and covered over with a tent this morning, News 24 showed us the police activity using a camera sneakily positioned in an upstairs window of a nearby house. Sky had to make do with peeking round a corner from street level...

The Telegraph quotes from Mr Stephens's profile liberally in addition to describing it in some detail. This actually makes it rather easy to locate his profile, a privilege I am glad to see has not yet been abused. This raises the issue of whether personal profiles, which in theory list the personal friends of their authors and allow direct contact to be made, should now become as closely guarded by journalists as the addresses of private individuals.