Ethics is something I take very seriously. Transparency, disclosure, and blogger ethics are not mere trifles to be addressed with jocularity, whimsy, or supercilious snark. On the contrary; I fully intend to tread the opposite path on these subjects.
For nearly two years I have depended upon this site and others of its ilk to inform me without bias on the events of the day. I say without pride or exaggeration that I'm no callow slackwitted turnipseed. I have even been assured privately that other, professionally employed persons will so attest, if pressed, or at the very least not dispute, this hard-eyed self assessment.
But I know for a fact there are many readers here who are not so lavishly endowed with my acuteness of intellect, my years of (self)training in critical analysis, my innate cunning and suspicious nature. To you I say BEWARE!
You may be as shocked as I was to learn that there is no law, regulation, or canon requiring the disclosure of recompense to bloggers by candidates, interested parties, idealogues, or crass peddlers of inanities, however far-fetched or improbable.
Simply put, don't be gulled like an adolescent mooncalf by claims of disinterested neutrality, no matter how beguiling or semblant they seem! What indeed, is to stay the staunchest of your bloggers from soliciting honorariums or other such propitiation from coarse propagandists, slick enticers, or inveiglers of any stripe, all with no one the wiser, except those for whom the lucre changes hands?
More credible and sound institutions from which to draw your news exist, fortunately. Institutions that conform to an immutable journalistic creed of forthright transparency. On these you can rely!
I offer definitive examples that should close the case:
NBC News: Here you will find news of every type, including traffic accidents, fires, and an interesting story on the front page about a new program at Kinko's Copy store, which allows you to get five free copies and join a club which will produce further discounts.
CBS NEWS: All the usual events of the world are related here, including an article detailing the lowering of prices this weekend at JC Penney's, complete with a picture and fancy graphics.
FOX News: Crimes of a horrible and lurid nature are related in detail here, along with commentary, opinion, and including a fascinating feature, blocked out in a somewhat garish square, elucidating an innovative long distance plan by the Vonage Company.
I also recommend the television, where you may find news galore, engaging correspondents, and even film of the latest world events. This amazing medium covers both the great and the mean of our spinning globe. One moment an interview with a world leader, the next an inside look at a product that will fill your toilet with effervescent sparkle that lasts for use after use. Footage of the latest carnage abroad, interspersed with more mundane news exposing the beneficial charactistics of indispensable consumables useful for personal grooming, losing weight, or arranging accomodations for travel.
Each and every one of these providers of news makes no distinction between stories; whether they be grave or trivial, and it is beyond probity to imply that any part of the entire panoply has been planted for remuneration.
The hard-won credibility of this site, the progressive blogosphere in general, yes, even the unimpeachable veracity upon which the entire internet itself depends, has been called into question by a growing chorus of reliable expositors. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but diligent examination proves their points to be uncontradicted.