As future journalists, we’re embarrassed.

First, there’s Limbaugh.

In the controversy and ensuing debacle over conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh’s attempt to purchase a stake in the St. Louis Rams, many fire bombs have been thrown both ways. But some of them aimed at Limbaugh — specifically, quotes Limbaugh supposedly said regarding the merits of slavery — are apparently fabrications.

For his part, Limbaugh said he’s never made such a statement, but that the quote may have originated on Wikipedia.

The Huffington Post, a liberal blog, has since removed the alleged remark, stating: “As is our policy when a fact in a blog post is called into question, we gave its author 24 hours to substantiate the quote. Since he has not been able to do so, the quotes have been deleted from the post.”

CNN host Rick Sanchez posted the following message on his Twitter account: “i’ve know rush. in person,i like him. his rhetoric,however is inexcusably divisive. he’s right tho. we didn’t confirm quote. our bad.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. You don’t get out of not checking your facts and repeating what amounts to character assassination with an “our bad.”

Apparently the Huffington Post and CNN need to sit in on JLMC 462 — media ethics.

Then there’s balloon boy.

On Thursday, word came that 6-year-old Falcon Heene may have been aboard a homemade UFO-shaped helium balloon when it was accidentally launched. What ensued was a hours-long media circus, with footage of the flying balloon and speculation by balloon experts.

But when the craft landed, no boy was to be found. Oh, wait. You say he was hiding in a cardboard box in the attic all along? You say the entire thing was concocted by the boy’s father as a publicity stunt in order to get the family on a reality TV show?

Make no mistake, due to the claims made by the family, the authorities were right to take the situation seriously and to pursue all possible avenues of getting the balloon on the ground safely.

But the incident is a prime example of the tendency many media have to jump on anything that’ll pull eyeballs. From Michael Jackson to Anna Nicole Smith, it seems like the big outlets are in a race to the lowest common denominator.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is involved in two conflicts abroad, and the fate of health care — one-sixth of the American economy — is in the process of being decided. Apparently the media watchdog gets distracted like any other canine. Just hold out your hand and pretend to have a treat.

So it’s no wonder that Americans are walking away from journalism. Millions of young people now get their news from The Daily Show on Comedy Central. After all, if you’re going to get inaccurate news, you might as well get it from somebody funny.

Well, we’ve had enough. Journalism — accurate journalism — is vitally important to a functioning democracy. And while we’ll undoubtedly make mistakes as we take the reins of media organizations in the coming years, here’s our pledge to do our best to restore your faith in the media.

Because when it comes down to it, journalism is about something more fundamental than politics and viewership. The first pillar of the craft, according to the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics, boils down to one, simple thing: Seek Truth and Report It.

And that’s what we intend to do.