Independence

 Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover. This is an essential part of journalism. (http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Journalism-Newspeople-Completely-Updated/dp/0307346706) We must present an unbiased view of the facts to cover stories correctly. I think that with all the new media forms, journalism independence will suffer. In the past people were exposed to general news every time they read the news paper. Now people can bypass that news and just straight to whatever news interests them. This means that the public will have to make a greater effort to know what is going on in the world.

At the same time the technology is also allowing people to access more resources than before. Journalists who are not independent from those they cover will be easily revealed in this new environment. http://www.kcnn.org/principles/independence_in_journalism In an ideal world news would be completely unbiased; however, this is not an ideal world or society. Journalists are loyal to employers who are in turn loyal to their owners. The public needs to be aware of these situations.

I think that there is a place for both fact and opinion in news; however, it needs to be clear which is being presented. Articles need to be presented objectively. Bloggers or reviewers need to clearly state that they are sharing their opinion and not hard fact. After all comment is free but facts are sacred.    http://www.fair.org/media-beat/010308.html