Full disclosure

In a comment below, David Merriman wonders whether bloggers' contempt for journalists arises from jouralists' failure to acknowledge their biases. That's a common theme in the blogosphere, but I have never heard anyone suggest exactly what journalists should do about it. Most blogs are a one-person show; most newspapers are the result of the work of dozens or hundreds of people.

Maybe some sort of detailed disclaimer could be attached to every story, say, for instance, on an Iraq story: This story was written by a reporter who favored the war in Afghanistan but believes the war in Iraq was unjustified and poorly planned. It is accompanied by photographs from a photographer who opposes the war but hopes it lasts long enough to win him a Pulitzer Prize. It was edited by the city editor, a libertarian who supports the war but doesn't think tax dollars should be used to pay for it. Final editing was by a copy editor who has voted for Democrats in every election since 1960. The headline was written by a news editor who never votes and thinks both parties serve a political system that is fundamentally corrupt. Final responsibility for the placement and editing of the story was in the hands of the managing editor, who never read it because he spent all day in budget meetings. He works for an executive editor who is sympathetic toward moderate Democrats but tries to conceal that from his boss, the publisher, who is a conservative Republican and serves on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. She in turn answers to a chief executive officer and a board of directors who live in another state and don't give a damn what's in the paper, so long as it generates more profits this quarter than last. Finally, the paper was delivered to your doorstep by a carrier who favors the war so long as he doesn't have to fight it.

Would a disclaimer like that satisfy the bloggers? Or perhaps some more generic disclaimer would do: This newspaper was written and edited by journalists who have been trained to observe the world objectively and without bias but whose ability to do so may have been compromised by their professional and personal experiences and their human shortcomings. It is published by an unthinking, heartless corporation that would just as soon be manufacturing crack cocaine if it thought that would make more money.