ABCNEWS.com : Manipulating Records and History Online

ABCNEWS.com : Manipulating Records and History Online: "As many of you know by now, the talk of this year's Super Bowl halftime show was Janet Jackson "

or rather, her right breast and its exposure during a musical number in which her costar, Justin Timberlake, was supposed to rip her leather bustier, revealing her bra. For whatever reason, millions of viewers witnessed a bit more.

In the wake of this embarrassing fiasco, I was searching for clues online about the veracity of claims made by Jackson, Timberlake, and MTV that this was unplanned.

Now I realize, in the grand scheme of things, that this whole discussion is immaterial, but it did get me wondering. I find it fascinating that some words, sounds, and images — like, for example, this moment beamed into 89.6 million homes — are captured forever digitally, but others, like the words contained in a press release issued by MTV right before the Super Bowl, vanish with nary a trace.

Within minutes of the incident, the Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com) posted an image from the controversial portion of Jackson's performance. And shortly after the game, there was a link to a Yahoo item with the brief, apologetic statement MTV issued just minutes after the game. The site also included a link to a pregame MTV announcement that, according to the Drudge site, promised "shocking moments" during Jackson's halftime show.

I clicked on the link (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484644/20040128/jackson_janet.jhtml?headlines=true) and was taken to the original MTV press release — or rather, what was left of it. All that remained was the shell of a page. I tried searching its news archives for the original story, but although the headline "Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Show Promises 'Shocking Moments' " did show up, the link went back to the same blank page. (Ed Note: After press time, MTV republished the article with an apology added.)