Are there any actual laws on the books that govern or regulate journalistic integrity? If not maybe there should be.
That would violate the 1st amendment.
Nothing as long as New York Times v. Sullivan remains good law. It makes it almost impossible to successfully sue the MSM for libel. So, they lie and get away with it.
Good point! Self-proclaimed ‘journalists’ claim to be professionals. Professions have codes of conduct or ethics, and a means of enforcing those codes.
To avoid any 1st Amendment issues, the ‘profession’ of journalism would have to be self-regulating — not regulated directly by government. However, if journalists want to be receive the benefits of being professionals — they have to start acting as such. For instance, if caught making up sources; they should be subject to discipline, by the governing body. If guilty of misconduct — they would lose their “professional journalist” designation, and all the attendant benefits. They would, henceforth, have no more privileges (such as access to the White House briefing room), than an ordinary blogger.