In this week's paper, I write that David Rohde--the New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, and whose abudction was subsequently kept quiet by the Times, Wikipedia and others--still seemed, during a recent lecture at Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism, to be wrestling with the ethical implications of his case.

When the Times announced Bono's hiring as an op-ed columnist, editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal had this to say: “Bono is a great addition to our Op-Ed line-up. He is an extraordinary man who thinks deeply about his art and the major issues confronting the world. His writing will reflect that.”

If you haven't already, take a look at Boston magazine editor James Burnett's Q-and-A with Mike Barnicle. Because of the insight it offers into the former Globe columnist's self-conception, it's a fascinating read. But it's also deeply frustrating, because Burnett isn't nearly as tough on his subject as he should have been.

In which, among other things, I examine why people flipped out over Gwen Ifill last week, but keep quiet about Bob Schieffer in '04. (BTW, Schieffer's also moderating the third presidential debate nPublishext week.)

As Dan Kennedy notes, today's much-aniticipated apology/explanation from John Tomase totally avoids the role Tomase's editors played in getting his bogus-Patriots-videotaping story into print. So I asked Herald editor Kevin Convey, who's usually pretty forthcoming, if he could discuss that subject.

"I'm going to take a rare pass," Convey said.