Seems like a question that should be asked by each and every journalist...

And while I'm at it – we could use the “How do you know that?” question in most stories out of Washington. It seems like lately the only quotes we hear on budget ideas are “It kills jobs!” or “It creates jobs!” and the story is good to go. Isn't there some truth about taxes and jobs creation floating around out there that journalists could make part of these stories? Or at least make clear that it's not a black and white issue, instead of being a platform for purely political messages?

<p>The above suggestion comes out of context to the greater discussion about how far should a journalist go to report a story -- so please click through on the citation to read the entire discussion.

But just the idea of asking ourselves -- and our sources -- How do you know that would go a long way toward improving so many aspects of the news business. I think it's striking in its simplicity.