Media's Responsibility?

Does the media bear any responsibility to the public for what it puts forward? In what it allows on its pages, it’s airwaves, it’s screens? Or can it put out any insane idea or nut bag rant and leave it to the public to find its validity? And is ‘truth’ a first amendment issue?
Take Michael Moore’s ‘documentary ‘ for example. Is it his first amendment right to put forward his propaganda as fact? Does he have any responsibility for the false ideas he implants in the minds of his viewers?
How about Dan Rather’s forged documents? CBS’s own experts told them that there were problems with these documents. But Mr. Rather went forward with the story anyway. Should he at least have informed his viewers that there were questions involving those documents? Should he have told his audience to take the story with a grain of salt? Or should he, as he did, state the story as fact and require his viewers to do the fact checking?
On NPR’s “Diane Rehm Show” on December 1, 2003 Howard Dean stated the following in reference to George Bush’s foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks:

"I don't know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far -- which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved -- is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now who knows what the real situation is?"

If it can’t be proved then why repeat it? What responsibility does Mr. Dean hold, if any, by repeating this conspiracy theory over the air? And what responsibility does Ms. Rehm own in not questioning it?
This line of questioning hit home with me recently, as I was turned on by a friend to a radio talk show that transmits in the area where I reside. AM 1280 out of Aurora, Il has a morning show hosted by Paul Morgan…it is an open forum call in show. The friend stated he had heard many strange calls ranging from the conspiratorial to the outright insane. Callers would complain that President Bush had destroyed the air, the drinking water, and killed all the animals. Another stated that the Bush family was part of the Trilateral Commission, a secretive group who supposedly has had a hand in nearly every evil ever committed in the world. One even went so far as saying Bush has destroyed every thing so badly there was ‘just no reason to live’. Throughout all this rambling Mr. Morgan either said nothing or groaned in an approving manner. He never interrupted these callers to question their credibility or that of their inane prattle.
This, to put it mildly, somewhat upset me…so here is what I did. I called the station in question, got through, and stated that I had scientific proof that George Bush was destroying the oceans. The screener put me on hold and I waited my turn to go on the air. My turn came soon enough and here is what I said:

“I have 2 points to make,” I stated. “First, I recently found out that the moon is moving away from the Earth at nearly 2 inches per day. The moon works the tides on the Earth and without the tides all the animals in the oceans will die. George Bush has been president for three plus years and he has done nothing. GEORGE BUSH IS DESTROYING THE OCEANS.”

Mr. Morgan let me rant without interruption so I made my second point:

“And two, sir, you just let me state over the airwaves that George Bush was destroying the oceans because he did nothing about the moon moving away from the Earth. You let me spout this insane theory without stopping me or saying how crazy that sounds.”

He replied that he new how ‘goofy’ I sounded when he took my original call, but it was my first amendment right to say anything I wanted. He then cut me off and referred to me to a later caller as a ‘goof.’ Did this man have no responsibility to the truth? No responsibility to his listeners to differentiate truth and insanity for them? Or do the listeners have the responsibility to fact check? Is it my first amendment right to lie to the public?
These are important questions. Especially now, in our current divided political environment, it is important to strive for some straight answers. We see that there are no more Edward R. Murrows in our newsrooms, no men we can innately trust. Our media has changed and not for the better.
In closing…Whatever other answers we do find this much I’m sure of: That media has shirked its responsibility to the people who entrust it in favor of advancing it’s own agenda.