Ah, Howlin, that's the precise misconception almost everyone in the general public holds about the media. No, they are not supposed to do anything other than make a profit for their shareholders, just like any other corporation. However, unlike other corporations, which can be sued for defective products or services, our media is protected by some of the weakest libel and slander laws in the world thanks to overly liberal court interpretations of the free press clause of the First Amendment.
But people in the media are not superhumans unflawed by the human failings to which the rest of us are subject. They are self-appointed chroniclers of the passing American parade who operate virtually free of any constraints on their behavior. It may be a cliche, but it is also true that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Our so-called mainstream media is rotten with corruption, as the Viacom, to CBS News, to 60 Minutes, to whoever arranged the book deal (bribe) for Clarke, to the rest of the mainstream media treating Clarke as a hero demonstrates.