Journalistic Ethics It sure would be nice if the media reporting on politics, both local and national, could come back through the looking glass. I do not understand why this idea is not the automatic default of all supposedly objective journalists. But as anybody who reads papers and watches the new channels knows, it obviously is not.

If I were king, there would be 100 percent disclosure and no story, no column, no “exclusive” would ever be permitted without total and immediate disclosure that the source was paid by a partisan, for dishing partisanship to media.

Imagine a story or column that read like this: “New questions were raised by the opposition research staff of Candidate A about Candidate B.” Or: “In an oppo research handout from the Republican National Committee, it was proven that Senator X made contradictory statements. Contacted by this paper, the talking-points writer for the Democratic Committee replied …”

It will be fascinating to watch the local elections this year for all the dirt provided by one side or the other. And if any reporters get something from me, or this site, feel free to credit me. My positions are not secret. I only ask that you treat all your sources the same way.

UPDATE: A friend points out that Jen Huberdeau's blog is called "Through the Looking Glass." My literary reference to Lewis Carroll's book in this post was purely coincidental and not intended as a jab at Jen.  ¶ 9:44 PM