You're right. We've come a long way from, "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so." Most (but admittedly not all) reporters and editors I've known have

You're right. We've come a long way from, "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so." Most (but admittedly not all) reporters and editors I've known have held themselves to the code you mention. The problem is that it's very rare for a reporter or editor to have the final say. It's the publisher who has that prerogative. And most (but not all) publishers I've met have little sense of that code. Their job is to make money for their shareholders. And in a desperate environment where ever dollar is hard-won, it doesn't surprise me that the publishers have resorted to tactics that water down the credulity of their properties.