Prominent Food Blogger Linked to Raw-Milk Cheese Ring

L'affaire Spitzer, while compelling in its own right, raises for me a semantic question regarding the initial newspaper headlines for the story. "Spitzer is Linked to Prostitution Ring," the New York Times announced. It was the "linked" part that got me. To me, the word "linked" implied that he was somehow involved in the business end of things, not that he was merely a customer, a client, a John, what have you. I also wondered whether there's a difference between a "prostitution ring" and a "call girl service," but that's another matter.

I was talking to my friend Donna about the Spitzer scandal, and I expressed my feeling that the word "linked" seemed imprecise or inappropriate. "If I buy a quart of milk," I asked her, "would it be correct to say 'Pete Cherches Linked to Dairy Distributors'?"

"That's not a good analogy," Donna said. "Milk isn't illegal. Now if it were unpasteurized cheese, that would be a different story."

"You're right," I said. "How's this for a headline: 'Prominent Food Blogger Linked to Raw-Milk Cheese Ring'?"

"Just as long as you're not linked to cheese logs of any kind," she replied.