Scandal and satire have been a part of MSM for a long time, but it was very clear where the line is drawn that separates it from objective journalism. While corporate and political influence existed to an extent, objectivity was seen as sacred.

If you don't see a difference between news reporting from 40 or 50 years ago and today, I don't know what to tell you.

And it was more effective locally because a limited selection if newspapers and TV channels was all you had access to until the Internet came along.