At the sold-out “Journalism That Matters” event at the University of Washington (Jan. 7-10), over 200 people came together to “Re-imagine News & Community in the Pacific Northwest.”

Mainstream journalists, community journalists, freelancers, bloggers, tweeters, academics, students and other interested parties gathered to confront some pretty tough questions, such as:

Who can be trusted in the “new news ecosystem”? What media sources are reliable, factual and accurate? How have the new media changed the rules of the game? Can the mainstream or “legacy” media survive?

Here’s an idea I floated at the event that I believe could greatly help increase public trust in journalism:

A voluntary “TAO of Journalism Seal — A Commitment to Transparency, Accountability and Openness.” It was designed by Kathy Schrier, my colleague at the Washington News Council.

This is an entirely voluntary, self-selected, self-affixed seal that anyone — freelancers, bloggers, hyperlocal sites, mainstream sites, individual reporters, editors, producers, or anyone doing journalism in the broadest sense of that word — could stick on their sites or pages.

People who take the “TAO Pledge” agree to be:

“TRANSPARENT – We will fully disclose who we are, our journalistic mission and our guiding principles. We will post information on our background and expertise, including education and experience. We will list advertisers, donors, grants, and any other payments that support our work. If affiliated with a political party or special-interest group, we will disclose that. If lobbying for any particular legislation or regulation, we will disclose that. If we are being paid to promote a product or cause, we will disclose that. If other factors could be seen as potential conflicts of interest, we will disclose them.

“ACCOUNTABLE – If we get any facts wrong, we will admit that promptly and publicly. We will post/publish/print/podcast/broadcast a correction or at least a clarification. We will fully explain what happened to cause the error or mistake. We will do a follow-up story if that is appropriate, putting the original material in better context. We will apologize and promise to be more careful next time. We will show a little humility.

“OPEN – If there are credible challenges to our point of view or simply differences of opinion, we will be open to contrary positions. We will give the other side(s) opportunity and space to express their views and engage in open public dialogue through comments or other means. If we are primarily engaged in opinion and commentary, rather than news reporting, we will make that clear – while inviting others to express their opinions through comment and feedback means.”

They would not necessarily agree to abide by any particular code of journalism ethics or professional standards, although they may choose to do so. If they do, they will declare that publicly. If they don’t, they will declare that as well. This will not be enforced by any outside organized group. It will be overseen by everyone on the Internet who wants to see high standards of transparency, accountability and openness in journalism – through whatever media platform. Call it “crowdsourcing” ethics.

Will this idea fly? Who knows? It was well-received at the event – especially by younger folks who are already totally TAO online. We even had 50 “TAO of Journalism” T-shirts on sale for $10 each – and we’re already sold out!

If journalism is going to matter, it must be trusted. But to be trusted, it must be Transparent, Accountable and Open — the exact same things journalists demand of everyone they’re covering. Surveys consistently show that institutions practicing these three principles are trusted. Those that don’t, aren’t.

That’s why a TAO Seal might work. Be Transparent about who you are, Accountable to the public, and Open to other points of view. What’s wrong with that? It’s no panacea, but it could help.

Just TAO it.

NOTE: The TAO Seal is a registered trademark. To use it, call 206.262.9793. More details coming soon at www.taoofjournalism.org.

John Hamer is executive director of the Washington News Council (www.wanewscouncil.org), an independent, nonprofit forum for media fairness, accuracy and accountability. He was on the organizing committee for the JTMPNW event.