Vision and mission: what's the difference?

Part of our homework assignment for Tuesday was to take a look at the Pine Tree Watchdog's website, specifically looking at the news site's vision and mission statement. I didn't know that a company could have both a vision and a mission statement; they just seemed like the same thing to me. But after reading through the Pine Tree Watchdog's I understand the difference between the two, and why it's important for a company to have them.

A vision is defined as an imaginative concept. This means that a company's vision is simply a concept or idea that it strives to meet everyday. In terms of the Pine Tree Watchdog, this means that all staff members strive to "fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American Democracy," while writing and reporting clear articles that don't choose sides. The mission statement essentially says the same thing, but it goes into much greater detail as to what the company believes in and how it delivers content that reflects these beliefs. I think it's important to have both of these because it shows customers what the company strives for and what it believes in.