Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, is now past the point of being flustered. He’s amused.

Bugeja, who was recently asked to take part in an online debate hosted by The Economist magazine, had his opening argument published Tuesday morning. To his dismay, around two-thirds of the debate had been cut by a “digital glitch,” leaving his argument seemingly “flat” and unfinished.

“The interesting thing, though, is I was making comments about how technology takes any system and changes it,” he said.

His opening argument was against the position “Social networking technologies will bring large [positive] changes to educational methods, in and out of the classroom.”

Bugeja said he was confused at first by the negative comments on his argument until he realized it had been cut short.

He immediately notified the publisher by e-mail, writing, “It’s a GREAT embarrassment to me as a scholar.”

He has since received apologies from the publisher of The Economist’s Web site, as well as friendly jibes from friends that the glitch seemed too convenient to have been a glitch.

After all, “the glitch only proves my point,” Bugeja wrote in an e-mail to his colleagues, explaining the mishap.

The mistake has since been rectified, and his full opening debate is available on www.economist.com.

“I was rattled at first,” Bugeja said, but for now, “I’m trying to be a good sport about it.”