Citizen journalistists, transparency and trust

Thanks to Gawker for this take on Bill Clinton's "scumbag" moment and the means by which it was achieved.

While I'm all for reporters being upfront about their trade around people they want to quote, Hamsher makes two good points in this excerpt alone:

1. Clinton should have been a bit more aware
2. Journalists should be trustworthy for the benefit of the public (and even those they may make look bad) rather than their access.

Granted, I'm not fighting it out in the Dailies trenches on the American political front, so my view is ultimately ignorant and (let's face it) irrelevant. Still, it would be nice to think I could retain an ethic or two on the battlefield.