Given what the media have put the country through this past decade, it must come as a surprise to most Americans that the press has a code of ethics.

As electronic journalism came to be evaluated for its cost effectiveness, the network world began breaking up.

Journalists, who are skeptical to begin with, simply do not like to be lied to or made fools of.

The networks found themselves having to compete for an increasingly Balkanized audience.

Given what the media have put the country through this past decade, it must come as a surprise to most Americans that the press has a code of ethics.

The ethics of editorial judgement, however, began to go though a sea change during the late 1970s and 80s when the Carter and Reagan Administrations de-regulated the television industry.

No matter what name we give it or how we judge it, a candidate's character is central to political reporting because it is central to a citizen's decision in voting.