Journalists do not provide a check against institutional abuses. When the Soviet Union was literally staging a holocaust in plain sight, the NYT lied to cover it up[1]. Walter Duranty still has a Pulitzer to his name for reports from the Soviet Union.
Supposedly the greatest triumph of journalism, lionized in a movie, uncovering of Watergate was done by an insider who just told the journalists. Nowadays, they're not even necessary for this. I learned about Snowden leaks from here and Wikileaks. And then nothing happened.
The only reason I can see why people believe journalists are heroic fighters for truth, checks against tyranny, and so on is because they rely on journalists for stories about journalists.
Supposedly the greatest triumph of journalism, lionized in a movie, uncovering of Watergate was done by an insider who just told the journalists. Nowadays, they're not even necessary for this. I learned about Snowden leaks from here and Wikileaks. And then nothing happened.
The only reason I can see why people believe journalists are heroic fighters for truth, checks against tyranny, and so on is because they rely on journalists for stories about journalists.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_the_Holodomor#Walter...