You put it well but I would go back a little further to McCarthy. After they took him down was when they really knew they had the power.
Even today when it can be proven that McCarthy was correct, his name is still used as a dirty slander word.
My Dad said never, journalism was never reliable, but became noticeable or blatant to him in the late 50s-early 60s. He died in 1999.
I agree with whoever said “when newscasters became celebrities” that it became entertainment rather than news.
Not for much longer.