Deep click

Waiting for "Deep Throat"

Taking a cue from the spy trade, The Wall Street Journal has just launched its new website for tipsters and whistle-blowers naming it the WSJ SafeHouse. It comes with instructions and a set of legal disclaimers or Terms of Use.

This digitized approach to gathering news certainly lacks the drama of some of the more established methods known to reporters -- the strange package, the halting voice on the telephone, the ranting letter or the stranger in the lobby.

Alas, the news business has joined the ranks of e-commerce and created a user interface that's easy to use, which is particularly critical to the first-time user.

One can only imagine the kind of material that will come in over this digital transom. Our money is on photos -- real or fake -- of a certain late terrorist.