"Rumors Fly Among Hasidim About Abducted Man's Death," is the headline of a New York Times article reporting:
One rumor had it that Mr. Stark had told his wife in recent weeks that he was being followed by men in a car. Another held that Mr. Stark had borrowed $500,000 from a mysterious, unidentified lender the day of his kidnapping.
Mr. Stark's family seemed bewildered by such gossip. A brother and a brother-in-law said the information about Mr. Stark being followed was no more than rumor; several relatives could not say whether Mr. Stark had taken out the loan.
One of his brothers, Eli Stark, 47, said Mr. Stark had never taken loans, not even bank loans to open new buildings. "He never borrowed in his life," his brother said, dismissing each piece of information as hearsay. "Next."
If these are unsubstantiated hearsay rumors or gossip, why do they meet the standard of news that is "fit to print"?
Link via John Cook and Josh Gerstein.