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INTERVIEWER: Yeah. But you know, as a person who really likes reading the hard copy of the paper more than he likes reading it on a computer screen but as more and more of us have iPads and things like iPads—I mean the one really enormous advantage to that technology it seems to me is the updateability of it. So you get your New York Times and USA Today at 6:00 in the morning and then big news happens at 10:00 in the morning and you can now have this thing you’re carrying around on the bus or you’re on the subway that’s got the new news in it. That’s a huge advantage.

CURLEY: Yeah it is, the USA Today and the Times are doing a good job on their updates. I know the Times has been criticized for getting on to it slowly sometimes but I think they’re doing a good job. And USA Today really has ramped up in the last four years to do a good job. But yeah, that’s out there so I’m hanging out.

INTERVIEWER: So what about ethical challenges associated with online journalism, do you see anything that’s happened in the last 10-15 years or that’s going to be happening that’s a real mine field for journalism?

CURLEY: Well the minefield is going too fast with information. AP used to have this slogan—probably still does but I don’t work there anymore—get it first but get it right and that’s still a good line. I’ve heard it said to some people say, well put it out there we can correct it. Now I’m not sure that’s a real quote or one of those quotes that comes from somebody who’s attacking somebody but yeah, the danger is slippery journalism and by the way some of the people working in that field are a little less buttoned-down than the people working for the mainstream media so that’s a big issue.

INTERVIEWER: What about people sort of jumping back and forth from being bloggers and tweeting and covering the news and being on TV shows talking about the news—you know all that kind of blurring of boundaries among journalists?

CURLEY: Yeah, it’s hard for me to make a case for that. And I’m not going to.

INTERVIEWER: In other words, if you’re just reporting the news you should just report the news and stay away from commenting.

CURLEY: I wouldn’t write editorial kinds of columns if I’m reporting this, you can’t move from here to here. The public doesn’t understand. Maybe you can mentally because you’re great but the public cant’ figure it out. They think you’re that way all the time. No, it’s an issue.

INTERVIEWER: What about just being you know, unable to distinguish between who’s really a journalist and whose just putting stuff out there that sounds like journalism, sounds like news but they don’t really know anything, they don’t have the sources.

CURLEY: Well the latest trend, I noticed because I was doing a class on it last week is that they’re now listing—some are listing our bloggers or newspapers bloggers, community bloggers so, I think that piece is starting to emerge. Who you’re with and whom you’re not with. Now, you’ve got to make your own calls on that.

INTERVIEWER: I just noticed the way like, somebody will blog about something you know and just in effect start to spread rumors and then it sort of takes on a life of its own.

CURLEY: It becomes fact.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah. I mean, think about Raul Ibanez when some blogger says you know, his homerun totals have sure gone up he must be on the juice, and next thing you know he’s having to answer questions from Philadelphia Inquirer sports reporters about whether he’s juicing.

CURLEY: Yeah well, I think the web’s got a lot of pitfalls. I’m not a guy that thinks that’s the place to get your solid news.