All we can say is that we were out of the country when this package of stories first appeared in early September, and we missed it.  (Yeah, so much of the all-the-time-anywhere of the Internet.)  But do take a look at what the graduate journalism students at Northwestern University served up.  Good research coupled with good presentations on a topic most serious and under-reported.

Northwestern University Data Dilemma

Data Dilemma: Privacy in an Age of Security

Northwestern University's News21 fellows look at America's new system of surveillance, developed by the government with the help of private data mining firms after 9/11. One story uncovers new details about a secretive program in which the Education Department shared personal information on hundreds of student loan applicants with the FBI. Two immersive interactive presentations explore the digital trails we leave behind us in our daily lives and show you government data-mining initiatives that might incorporate information about you.