Editor's Desk: Journalists bedeviled by credible-sounding lies

A reporter's worst nightmare is a person who concocts an identity or makes up a believable yet fictitious story that ends up in print or on the air.

Television stations and even Larry King were duped by Richard Heene, who took to the airwaves to convince the world that he and his wife really thought his son was aboard a homemade balloon that had drifted away from their house. The Heenes knew their ruse - evidently a bizarre attempt to land a reality show contract - would not be complete without full exposure in the electronic media.

In the fast-moving world of electronic journalism, where a few minutes is the difference...