For the sin we journalists have sinned before thee,
Under duress and willingly
For the truth we have warped before thee
Through hardness of the heart
Through venality of the spirit
For the sin we have sinned before thee in passing judgment
And for the sin we have sinned before thee in the exercise of power
For the prejudices we have nurtured
For the hatreds we have milked
For the reputations we have sullied
For the names we have desecrated
For the guilt we have presumed
For the sides we have taken,
For the sides we have shunned
For the truth we have warped before thee
Hyped before thee, tailored before thee
Pimped before thee
Doctored before thee
For the sake of nothing more than a deadline or a headline
Or simply for our name's sake
For all these
Forgive us, pardon us, atone for us
For the sin we have sinned before thee
In throwing off the yoke of ethics
For the sin we have sinned before thee
Knowingly and through carelessness
For the sin we have sinned before thee
through cunning speech
through scorning with cleverness
through the bias of the narrowed eye, the haughty eye,
through entrapment, through gossip mongering
For the sin of currying favor, by keeping secrets that protect the powerful,
And for the sin of causing death, by revealing secrets that can identify targets
For the sin we have sinned before thee
In choosing the single picture over the 1,000 words
And for the sin we have sinned before thee
In feasting on the failings of those we choose to vilify
And in denial of the evils of those with whom we identify
For the sin we have sinned before thee
In the mining and selling of grief
For the sin we have sinned before this
In bearing false witness for ratings sake
And for the sin we have sinned before thee
In the manufacture and sale of fear
For the sin we have sinned before thee
In trading on the threats of our enemies
And, in doing do, creating new dangers
For the sin we have sinned against thee
In turning people against one another in baseless hatred
And for the sin we have sinned against thee
In using the Holocaust for bait.
For the sin we have sinned against thee
In losing the ability to feel
And for the sin we have sinned against thee
In celebrating this as professionalism.
For the privacy we trample
For the mourners we exploit
For the good names we ruin
And the good works we ignore
For all these,
Forgive us, pardon us, atone for us
