Firstly, there are no statutes or regulations requiring newspapers to print “only the truth, nothing but the truth and the whole truth.” Likewise, there are no limitations on what a paper chooses to publish – or to not publish. Strictly speaking, principles of free speech and of a free press apply only to efforts by the government – or the State – to restrict what its citizens may say and write. Moreover, such principles, even if voluntarily adopted and respected, do not convey licenses to distort, mislead, and corrupt the facts and call it “news.” At the least, such mistakenness is ignorance and at worst it is fraud.

Moreover, voluntary principles of free expression do not imply any limitation on the criteria which a private medium, such as a newspaper, may establish in the way of professional standards. No newspaper is required by any statute or regulation to have opinion and/or editorial (op/ed) pages but most papers do have some forum where you may say whatever you want, to whomever you choose, and at any time you wish, within the bounds of the editor’s perspective of civility, morality and ethics – libel laws notwithstanding. Whether it be your letter to the editor, a syndicated columnist’s views, or the publisher’s own opinion, there are venues of fundamentally free expression. But if you can’t – or won’t – check your facts, then don’t call it news; call it fiction.