Journalists ARE ethical.

At least one study suggests this. And I'm not surprised. I strongly suspect that many journalists get into journalism for the same reason that most seminarians and many doctors do: they want to make a difference in the world. Perhaps, if these people really are motivated by a moral/ethical urge such as altruism, their decision making also includes a strong moral/ethical element. I know, that sounds naive, but every journalist I've ever met has held strong beliefs on what is right and wrong, or ethical and unethical.

I might also mention that I'm not surprised that middle schoolers are even less ethical than criminals. If your entire intellect and being is devoted to thinking about or trying to get laid, moral and ethical issues fade into the background...

UPDATE: As a corollary to this post, I suspect that if you were able to accurately discern people's motives for choosing professions, you'd find the same trends regardless of profession. Basically, I think that altruism and ethics correlate pretty well so that where you find one, you are likely to find the other.