The Project for Excellence in Journalism has released this year's annual State of the News Media report. While much of the blog talk has been about the report's conclusion that user-generated content now drives news consumption (Duh!

Sometimes I read too much print journalism, too many blogs, and I forget to watch TV. TV can bring out truth in people. I was glad just now to see Katie Couric ask candidates, “What was your biggest mistake?” in her series, “Character, leadership and the presidency.” I am not of the evening news demographic, but I like this topic. I wish we’d discuss it more. So my husband and I just watched ten candidates in a row answer: What was your biggest mistake? And it was telling. And I took some notes:

# Journalism's first obligation is to the truth. # Its first loyalty is to citizens. # Its essence is a discipline of verification. Those are the first three of nine commandments from The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, a text from the Project for Excellence in Journalism that has become de rigeur in journalism classes across the country. Reading the media criticism on the BlogHer rolls this week reminded me how challenging it can be to fulfill that mandate -- and be perceived as an honest broker.