'Transparency' in journalism doesn't exist, but it could

When journalists talk about “transparency,” what they invariably mean is that the people they cover should share all of their secrets. Meanwhile, journalists believe they should never be asked to share anything about their own process that might enhance or detract from the audience’s view of their credibility.

A new Wall Street Journal op-ed by Walter Hussman, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper, is a perfect case study. Hussman’s point is that the traditional news media might save or even repair their credibility with the public by recommitting themselves to the “core values” that they otherwise pretend to care about.