I would argue we do not, and I said why here: gigaom.com

Let's see if we can get a blog-fight going :-)

I think attribution is a bigger issue with mainstream media outlets on the web. The New York Post (and even Reuters) has a habit of not linking out to the sources they cite. I don't think a Code of Conduct is going to change that though. Our problem at Reuters is one of technical issues, which we're working to fix (issues with ingesting wire articles to the web; while our opinion section is very good at linking out)

That's a good point, Anthony -- technical issues are part of the problem for many newspapers as well, although I think sometimes that is a convenient excuse for what is ultimately a cultural issue. If they think it is important, then they will figure out a way to do it.

I think there's a culture of understanding the link economy here, as demonstrated by how we link promiscuously on the side of the CMS that actually allows us to do so. The coming revamp of the entire CMS will make linking out ubiquitous throughout the site and it can't come soon enough.

Getting back to the main topic though, I would agree with Hamilton Nolan's Gawker post, which stated that public shaming is more effective than an imperial council of blog cops.

Mathew: I'm disinclined as well to try to impose controls on an uncontrollable medium. Increasing awareness is important, and respected voices can help point to abuses. And -- NOT FOR PUBLICATION -- in the case of the worst problems, well, that's what lawyers are for. Best, Jim