Apparently, the leak to The Globe, of the St. Fleur report, was not done anonymously, as the paper implies by adding at the end of this article: "The Globe is not disclosing the source of the report."

So the Globe knows whether Reilly's vocal and pointed accusations are true or false and they know whether Gabrieli's firm denials are true or false. But we in the public are in the dark on an issue bearing on the integrity and honesty of two officials running for an important office. I thought newspapers were supposed to inform us about these things, not hide them from us.

How do they cover the story about the story? Do they spread the accusations, even if they know they're false? Do they hold back while the Herald doesn't, strongly hinting as to who did or didn't leak the report? And if they know Reilly's accusations are true, how do they then play Gabrieli's unequivocal denials?

In most fields where ethics are important, a conflict like this would require a recusal. But how does a newspaper recurse itself from the news? Can they recuse themselves from the Governor's race?

UPDATE: Did I mention that The Globe will probably endorse one of the three Democratic candidates at some point? That introduces another ethical dimension to the story.