So, the Associated Press has admitted that it tried an experimental blackout on news involving Paris Hilton, and they explain why, in very non-news agency ways: "It was only meant to be a weeklong ban -- not the boldest of journalistic initiatives, and one, we realized, that might seem hypocritical once it ended. And it wasn't based on a view of what the public should be focusing on -- the war in Iraq, for example, or the upcoming election of the next leader of the free world, as opposed to the doings of a partygoing celebrity heiress/reality TV star most famous for a grainy sex video."

But this got me thinking - didn't Doug Lowenstein specifically say of the ever-controversial lawyer: "“It drives me crazy. You know who gives Jack Thompson more attention than anyone else? The games press. The games press legitimizes Jack Thompson. Everyone gets so upset that Jack Thompson has so much ability. I just,” he loses his composure, just for a second, “…I just think it’s nuts.”"

Isn't what Lowenstein saying here, effectively, that Jack Thompson is the Paris Hilton of the games press? And if we stop summoning him by name, he loses much of his power? I'm not sure I totally agree - when Gamasutra runs stories on him, it's generally because of a specific lawsuit against a game company, something that's probably in the public interest to report. But it's interesting to consider - do you think that Lowenstein has a point? More importantly, does Thompson have a small chihuahua named Tinkerbell?