If a journalist were to write a first-person article chronicling her jewelry store robbery, her editor might be inclined to say, "Um, that sounds kinda illegal, sort of. We shouldn't run this." Or at least title the piece "If I Did It."

But when a reporter recounts her trip through New York's Canal Street on a quest to score counterfeit bags, her editor knows it's going to wind up on the paper's most-emailed list. So: onward, enterprising scribe!

These stories aren't new – but, news peg: Fashion Week! – and they're transparently hinged upon our innate desire to go up close with the black market. Readers love these stories for the same reasons we love To Catch a Predator: It's journalistic porn.

But Elaine Pasekoff's story, in the Miami Herald last week, where her life intersected at Canal and Mott, has the paper's ombuds Edward Schumacher-Maltos reaming her out.

He writes:

These counterfeit handbags are illegal and possibly immoral. To The Miami Herald's credit, some of the illegality was outlined in a sidebar in which Pasekoff, a freelance writer, quotes various officials. The counterfeit trade feeds Asian mafias, steals the names and business of legitimate manufacturers, avoids millions of dollars in taxes and is conducted without any controls over child labor or use of banned chemical products. But after pointing some (not all) of that out, the sidebar concludes:

"Even so, while law-enforcement targets manufacturers and sellers of counterfeits, casual buyers are unlikely to be busted." Pasekoff then goes on to list tips on how to get the best-quality fakes. Be sure to test the zippers. Many readers were incensed.

"Wow, this article is truly appalling!" was a typical response among the dozens of online comments. "Why in the world would a newspaper want an article written that CONDONES buying illegal merchandise and supporting ILLEGAL business practices. Such horrible journalism, you should be ashamed for publishing this."

Meanwhile, the Herald's features editor, Aminda Marques Gonzalez, says, "Our intent was obviously not to promote an illegal act. We were trying to acknowledge in some way what scores of people do when they visit New York City."

Freelance reporters: They're just like us.