Journalists, bumper stickers and ethics

The New York Times' standards editor has decreed that Times staffers should not have political bumper stickers on their cars. Frankly, that fits with the old Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel ethics codes as well as that of the Society of Professional Journalists. Leading over backward to avoid conflicts or to avoid partsianship is very important. In this age of blogging and rampant opinionizing, it's nice to have someone call attention to the ethics of professional journalists.

Every year in my Journalism 1 class, I challenge students with the question: Is a blogger a journalist? Ethical consideration is one factor in making a journalist, whether s/he blogs or not.