News-Record.com

Much has been written in blogs about the case of Farnez Fassihi, the Wall Street Journal's reporter in Baghdad who wrote to friends about her personal observations of life in Iraq.

I just sent a copy of this story from Editor & Publisher to my staff with this note: "The Wall Street Journal reporter’s experience with e-mailed observations of life in Baghdad should be a lesson to us all. Please guard your opinions about matters of public interest. I know that we all get e-mails from readers and sources – heck, we invite them. This is a good reminder that responses, even flip ones to friends, can take on a life of their own far beyond what you intended."

One of the many misunderstood facets of traditional journalism is that regarding opinions. We don't expect journalists to be blank slates; that's impossible. We do expect them to put aside their opinions and bias while reporting and writing a news story. The object is to pursue the truth. And along the way, our obligation is to provide accurate, fair and verifiable information. I happen to believe we do a pretty good job of it.