Bill Kovach en Tom Rosenstiel schrijven in hun boek ‘The elements of journalism’ het volgende:
“[T]here remain clear principles we require of our journalism, principles that citizens have a right to expect… The first among them is that the purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. To fulfill this task:
- Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.
- Its first loyalty is to citizens.
- Its essence is a discipline of verification.”
Dus om vrij en soeverein te zijn hebben we recht op loyaliteit, waarheid en toetsbaarheid. De media die deze drie regels schenden, schenden onze rechten – ze roven onze vrijheid en ze domineren ons.