I am shocked and sometimes angered when people assume that reporters, including myself, have some biased interest in the way we report stories.

For the record, no one has promised that my residence will receive water service based on Ranier successfully annexing Jameson and French additions.

The Ranier annexation issue is an interesting one, but I personally have no gain regardless of the outcome.

As I have said in this space before, journalists are not only compelled to be unbiased, but are obliged to put their feelings aside when they cover a news story.

At The Journal, as at most newspapers, reporters are assigned “beats” to cover. A beat can be a geographic area, an issue, or a group of issues, that news staff regularly report on by attending meetings, making contacts with the people involved, and keeping abreast of the changes within the beat.

When we assign beats, we consider who lives where, who is related to whom, and any other connection that a reporter may have to a particular beat.

For example, a reporter who lives in the city of International Falls, or who is related to someone who works for the city, won’t, if at all possible, cover news involving that city or the council that governs it.

A reporter who stands to gain in some way by action a council or board may take also won’t be assigned to cover that story.

Reporters must be careful to avoid even the appearance that they may lean a certain way on an issue. Once readers believe they know a reporter’s opinion, they may perceive an opinion that is not really included in the reporter’s stories.

We take great pride in writing unbiased news stories. When we fall short, we expect fellow reporters and readers to take us to task.