http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspxI changed my mind about posting original links to the Meredith Kercher story because I watched a copy of the Amanda Knox YouTube video.It makes the whole story feel so much more personal. It's amazing that the whole world can march through a digital crimeen-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60608.1)http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspx#465933Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:06:52 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:465933KRWWill, a journalism question regarding this story...I haven't followed it since it originally broke, but apparently there is a NY actress by the name of Amanda Knox which has caused a small bit of confusion and brought her some unwanted (though in the long run it may work for her) attention.  Is it standard journalistic practice to use a person's middle name in stories like these so that this sort of thing isn't likely to happen?  Obviously in assasinations this is the case (Mark David Chapman, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Boothe, etc.) but I've also noticed in a few local child killer cases they also make the point of using a middle name.  Is there a policy/rule of thumb?  Does it have anything to do with the shock value of the case? http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspx#466214Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:27:23 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:466214Will FemiaKRW, I don't know of a journalistic convention that calls for using three names so as not to inconvenience the innocent. I think the three name thing comes from the legal aspect of the story. Police use all three names when they're looking for someone. Courts use three names as well (Orenthal James Simpson). I think reporters pick up on that. I'll ask around here and let you know if anyone here disagrees with me.http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspx#466226Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:31:42 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:466226Don TuiteIf the newsmedia didn't do the three-name thing, how would we know that giving a boy "Wayne" for a middle name would make him a serial killer?http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspx#466306Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:01:47 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:466306AJ, OhioThat Italian site is a bit infuriating, if only because a) I don't speak Italian and b) I cannot seem to copy and paste it to enable me to translate it. http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/14/465748.aspx#466421Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:03:21 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:466421ChuckWill, you're right, including a perp's middle name comes from the cops, reporters just follow along.