What if? Journalists had to reference sources...
You can find a brilliant argument for why this might be a good idea in Ben Goldacre's book Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks which I've recently read and cannot recommend too highly for anyone with half a brain.
Blogarhythm: Don't Lie - Black Eyed Peas
Update 17-Oct-2011: Ben Goldacre had a good rant about Bad Science at TED this year: