they address the question of truthfulness or objectivity in reporting; that
is, the idea of a fair and balanced press does not originate in our
Constitution. The evolution of this idea is complex and worthy of close
examination on its own. And yet, it seems that there is no official
journalistic stance on issues such as spin, propaganda, framing and
rationalism. Currently the Society of Professional Journalists has a Code
of Ethics (http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp):
Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation
of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by
seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of
events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and
specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty.
Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.In the first line, the setting of standards and ethics for journalists is not a
matter of law, but of self-governance. That is, organizations like the
Society of Professional Journalists can discuss what journalism can and
should be; they can publish guidelines; they can even hold journalists who
fail to meet those guidelines up for peer review and public criticism. In an
extreme case, where a journalist has broken hard-line rules (quoting non-
existent sources, knowingly presenting fiction as fact; direct plagiarism),
he or she will simply no longer be unemployable as a journalist. If poor
journalistic standards exceed a certain point, then the law may come into
play.
There are external watchdog organizations which take up the task of
monitoring journalists and news sources – Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting and FactCheck.org are two of many. For the most part these
non-profit groups are scrupulously fair, pointing out misrepresentations
and exaggerations in both the Democratic and the Republican campaign
rhetoric, for example. But beyond bringing questionable practices to the
public’s attention, there is little they can do.^6
Traditional and new media outlets claim to strive for objectivity, but
study of practices over time provides evidence that bias is widespread.
Media outlets are businesses like any other, one that must answer to
corporate owners; this fact necessarily influences the context in which
they do their work. The media’s most effective tool in forming public