Journalism 101

From Thomas Friedman's column in The New York Times:

On Nov. 4, Anderson Cooper did the country a favor. He expertly deconstructed on his CNN show the bogus rumor that President Obama's trip to Asia would cost $200 million a day. This was an important "story." It underscored just how far ahead of his time Mark Twain was when he said a century before the Internet, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." But it also showed that there is an antidote to malicious journalism -- and that's good journalism. Continue here.

I only took a couple of college journalism courses but I've been exposed to journalistic news and ethics all my life. Since we have apparently hit bottom in broadcast journalism perhaps Cooper will start a trend to bring us back from the National Inquirer-worthy stunts of Fox News, the Rushes, and the Keiths.