I didn't see your post before essentially saying the same thing.
Yes, a reporter's career is based on cultivating good sources over the years, people who will tell him what's going on and why. Of course, if the reporter wants to KEEP the source, he won't tell the READERS what's really going on, he will tell them what his most valuable sources WANT him to say. If the reporter is smart enough to avoid too-obvious insider trading, his access can be VERY lucrative, whether directly or by passing info along to other people who would be suitably grateful.
Look at CNN in Iraq under Sadaam, or Duranty of the NY Times "reporting" about the USSR under Stalin. They reported what they were told, without regard for truth, in order to maintain their "access". The reporter is in the business of selling newspapers, not telling the truth. Their business model depends on their readers never figuring this out.
It wasn’t just that they reported what they were told. They want to believe. Socialism is the ruling paradigm among all teachers and reporters really are teachers.
Yes, a reporter's career is based on cultivating good sources over the years, people who will tell him what's going on and why. Of course, if the reporter wants to KEEP the source, he won't tell the READERS what's really going on, he will tell them what his most valuable sources WANT him to say. If the reporter is smart enough to avoid too-obvious insider trading, his access can be VERY lucrative, whether directly or by passing info along to other people who would be suitably grateful.This is how environmental reporters - indeed, reporters in general - work. Get a few key sources, use them for quotes or stories all the time. Result: lazy, biased news reporting.
Look at CNN in Iraq under Sadaam, or Duranty of the NY Times "reporting" about the USSR under Stalin. They reported what they were told, without regard for truth, in order to maintain their "access". The reporter is in the business of selling newspapers, not telling the truth. Their business model depends on their readers never figuring this out.
Journalism and ObjectivityWhy the Associated Press is Pernicious to the Public Interest
The Market for Conservative-Based News