A canonical example of the journalism guild’s view of what constitutes honest reporting is this from CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell and CBS News‘ response to the outcry over her…error. She emitted a tweet regarding the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, claiming
NEW: According to a DOJ official, the FBI is NOT in possession of former President Trump’s passports. Trump had accused the FBI of stealing his three passports during the search of his Mar-a-Lago home.
This was shown later to be obviously wrong; the FBI returned three of Trump’s passports, which of course they could not have done had they not “been in position” of them in the first place.
Notice: O’Donnell claimed to be citing a DOJ official (emphasis mine).
CBS News protocol is to confirm news with at least two people before reporting it as fact.
Two people.
It used to be the case that journalists were required to cite two on-the-record sources to corroborate an anonymous source’s claim. The journalism guild has long since walked away from that requirement.
And so I ask again.
Why have journalists chosen to walk away from that standard of integrity?
What concrete, measurable standard of integrity do journalists use today in lieu of that one?