The Globe's Simon Houpt about ethics in political journalism

The Globe and Mail's Simon Houpt has written an interesting piece on friendships between journalists and their sources. Excerpt:
"News people aren’t supposed to become friends with sources. We’re instructed to maintain distance, even as we lunch and gossip and booze with them – building blocks of relationships, frankly, from which so many of the best stories emerge. It’s a delicate dance, dangerous like a tango, and sometimes we slip up and our cordial relationships become friendships. The line separating them is like the oft-quoted distinction between erotica and pornography: We know it when we see it."
The whole story
(PS: TVO has an excellent Danish series on Sunday nights, Borgen, which  chronicles the life of a female prime minister. A small country, there are a lot of conflicts of interest, including media.  More here )