[the bottle let me down]

In general, the Cary Grant quote is write.

She was probably under 18 at the time. (I don't know, I'm just guessing, but it seems likely.) Furthermore, if I'm the editor of the Tribune, I don't want my reporters and/or columnists getting involved with people they are writing about. It hurts the credibility of the entire paper, even if the writer discloses the relationship at the time. That alone would justify Greene's demise in my mind. Especially since Greene has a history of writing about and therefore dealing with troubled (and emotionally vulnerable) youth.

[NYCVirago]

She was probably under 18 at the time. (I don't know, I'm just guessing, but it seems likely.) Furthermore, if I'm the editor of the Tribune, I don't want my reporters and/or columnists getting involved with people they are writing about. It hurts the credibility of the entire paper, even if the writer discloses the relationship at the time. That alone would justify Greene's demise in my mind. Especially since Greene has a history of writing about and therefore dealing with troubled (and emotionally vulnerable) youth.

It doesn't say that Greene wrote about her; only that he met her through the column. That could mean any number of things. And we don't know her exact age -- she could be 18 or 19. Unless there are some more details forthcoming, it doesn't seem that Greene's sins deserved a forced resignation.

[sinkspur]

Furthermore, if I'm the editor of the Tribune, I don't want my reporters and/or columnists getting involved with people they are writing about. It hurts the credibility of the entire paper, even if the writer discloses the relationship at the time.

This is the crux of the matter. The woman who wrote an expose on Jack Welch for some magazine had to resign when it was revealed she was having an affair with him at the same time (which affair is going to cost Jack Welch a bundle after his wife filed for divorce).

I'm not a big fan of journalism, but there's an unwritten rule about not getting involved emotionally or otherwise with subjects of stories or columns.