Ethics Lessons from the Media?

Give me a break. In Friday's WSJ there was an article discussing whether we bloggers need a code of ethics. This from a press hot off of "Rathergate". This from the main-street media that look the other way if it's their guy and attack like a hungry hound dog if it's not their man. This from kazillions of "would be" editorialists who are paid to report facts but seldom do. This from a press that have become masters at utilizing the old one step forward and two backward against its opponents. Example:
"John Doe made a million dollars last year. There are rumors, however, of mafia connections. Unconfirmed rumors report the possibility of IRS agents being seen in the neighborhood where Doe lives." Get the message. Look at this the next AP news article you read.

Part of the problem is the evolution of "journalists". In times past most reporters had risen through the ranks from less noble positions as the press room or other mundane areas of the business. They had ink on their fingers and stains on their shirt pocket from a leaky pen. They were journeyman craftsmen. Now its Joe who can't make up his mind what to do for a living and who had a dad that could foot the bill for Columbia school of journalism.

The basic ethics problem in the nation as a whole is that of basic morality. With liberty goes responsibility. We seem to have forgotten that fact. We don't get paid, claim a lack of bias, or try to influence politicians. If there was a code of ethics who would prepare it? With what authority? What would develop would be censorship and the abridgement of free speech. We are still subject to the laws for libel just like any citizen, so lets just leave it there.