Objectivity
- Unequivocal separation between news and opinion. Editorials and op-eds are clearly separated from news pieces. News reporters and editorial staff are distinct.
- Unequivocal separation between advertisements and news. All advertisements must be clearly identifiable as such.
- Reporter must avoid conflicts of interests—incentives to report a story with a given slant. This includes not taking bribes and not reporting on stories that affect the reporter's personal, economic or political interests. See envelope journalism.
- Competing points of view are balanced and fairly characterized.
- Persons who are the subject of adverse news stories are allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond to the adverse information before the story is published or broadcast.
- Interference with reporting by any entity, including censorship, must be disclosed.
Now that you've seen the way it's SUPPOSED to be, read this article by Howard Kurtz which shows how it really is now. There is not objectivity in news anymore--they've become cheerleaders for whomever they choose and whatever cause they choose. Do real people recognize that? Well, if you watch the video below of regular Obama voters you'll see they obviously don't. It's a sad time for America---stupidity has become the norm, not the exception. (Great quote from the article: "What's troubling here goes beyond the clanging of cash registers. Media outlets have always tried to make a few bucks off the next big thing. The endless campaign is over, and there's nothing wrong with the country pulling together, however briefly, behind its new leader. But we seem to have crossed a cultural line into mythmaking."
