The answers to these questions, and the way these documents are handled and discussed in the weeks and years to come, aren't limited to the journalism ethics classroom. [...] When it comes to future handling of such information, the gray area in which they reside — between public and private, between prurient and illuminating — might not be the exception, but the new normal. The stance that journalists and academics take on these documents has the potential to guide our nation's understanding of how we treat the compromise of the 21st century's most valuable commodity, for both individuals and corporations: privacy.
The new reality is that journalists simply do not own the news cycle. [...] The new role of journalists, for better or for worse, isn't as gatekeepers, but interpreters: If they don't parse it, others without the experience, credentials, or mindfulness toward protecting personal information certainly will.