A recent survey from Northwestern University polled newspaper reporters and editors about morality in the media. While the general result was not surprising, several interesting facts surfaced that can have a profound effect on a publicity campaign.

The survey of 527 randomly chosen journalists working at 218 daily newspapers across the country about inaccurate, misleading or fabricated news was conducted by researchers at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. The majority of the respondents agreed that the public is losing confidence in the accuracy of print media reporting.

The majority cited pressure to produce and lack of resources as the main reasons for inaccurate reporting. Over half of the respondents reported that they had observed unethical or unprofessional behavior in their newsrooms over the past five years.

According to the survey, widely reported incidents of plagiarism in national media overwhelmingly accounted for the “taint” on newspapers. Journalists also said that problems in television news, on Web sites and blogs, and even in tabloids and shopper publications all have a negative effect on the credibility of newspaper journalists.

Of particular interest to PR professionals is the fact that over seventy percent of journalists reported experiencing source-related problems in the last year. Thirty-nine percent say they suspected a source was deliberately misleading them; 31 percent discovered that they had been misled by source; 35 percent learned that one of their published stories had contained false information provided by a source; and 33 percent had concern about a source that caused them to review a story with their newspapers' legal counsel.

Given the fact that journalists are on the defensive regarding their ability to truthfully report the facts and that they believe that sourcing is a problem, it is more important than ever that companies and their PR representatives provide the media with solid and truthful background and facts when presenting a story idea or responding to an inquiry.