Marc Riddell wrote:
Huh!?!
How would giving away the money you are paid for doing work make that work
any more credible? What about the credibility and integrity of the person
doing that work? Ever hear of trust!?!
As for "good editors losing their neutrality when money is involved" - to
make this statement work you need to remove the word "good".
Absolutely. That's why journalists regularly take payments from people
they are covering in the news. A "good" journalist would have no problem
writing a fair article, no matter who's giving them money. We trust
them, so there's no problem.
Wait, no. It's just the opposite. That's called a conflict of interest.
And behavior like that is strictly forbidden by any journalistic code of
ethics I've ever seen. E.g.:
Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than
the public's right to know.
Journalists should:
* Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
* Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise
integrity or damage credibility.
* Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment,
and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public
office and service in community organizations if they
compromise journalistic integrity.
* Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
* Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power
accountable.
* Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests
and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
* Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money;
avoid bidding for news.
(from the "Act Independently" section of
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp)
We ignore their historically evolved and time-tested solution at our
great peril.
William
--
William Pietri <william(a)scissor.com>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:William_Pietri