The Associated Press, in its Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law states that "there is no substitute for accuracy and news organizations may face legal challenges to what they publish even when they have accurately reported statements made by someone else." As is in the case of CBS news anchor Dan Rather's false accusations that President Bush failed to complete his duty as the National Guard in Vietnam. According to Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary accuracy is "freedom from mistake or error," or "conformity to truth or a standard or a model." American mainstream journalism values accuracy more than interpretation and analysis for various reasons. Kovach and Rosenstiel, in their book The Elements of Journalism, claim that truth is "the first and most confusing principle" in Journalism. Journalists create the knowledge people share within their community and provide citizens with the proper information necessary to live their lives. This is why accuracy and truth are fundamental elements in American Journalism.
             Many journalists in America believe objectivity is a valid way to report information because it prevents partisanship. Reporting news objectively means reporting news in a fair and balanced matter without emotion, protecting reporters from the consequences of what they write. However, being fair doesn't necessarily mean being completely truthful. Truthfulness is something you could verify but if you are looking to be fair, you may end up being inaccurate. "Balancing a story by being fair to both sides may not be fair to the truth, if both sides do not, in fact, have equal weight" ( Kovach and Rosentiel, pg.46). Objectivity also tends to excuse lazy reporting. If all a reporter has at his or her deadline is the arguments of both sides, then it is often hard for the readers to understand what is verifiably true in the article. Facts are definitely mo...