Georgia10 has a pretty good post about Malkin's nonsense. The basic issues are understanding the power imbalance which comes from having a large microphone and the distinctions between public/private figures and public/private lives.
I've probably made a few mistakes along these lines while blogging - using the big microphone to bludgeon a small player - though I'm pretty sure I've always been careful to maintain the separation between the real and virtual worlds. I wouldn't knowingly post someone's personal phone number, and if I had done so inadvertently I would pull it down.
If Malkin had pulled down their phone numbers after being asked it wouldn't be a big deal. They did put it on their press release. When I post press releases I usually try to remember to pull out the contact information, though I probably haven't always remembered to do so. But if someone asked me to pull it down I would. The fact that a number has been made public somewhere on the internets does not mean that number should be posted on this blog as an encouragement for my readers to call it.
