The OP's bullet points are a real "softball" picture of the dynamics of the press and journalism (though the press is not necessarily more corrupt than a lot of institutions, it just claims more).
Notably, the OP doesn't mention "cultivating sources" in their bullet points and that's a big source of corruption of individual journalists.
In more detail: one of the most valuable thing a given political reporter on either a local or national level can get is "scoop", the opportunity to break a story first. The valuable source of scoops is ... the very people in power at whatever level the reporter is operating on. So a reporter wants to have these powerful people like them. And that effort to be liked can easily result in the reporter spinning a story to the liking of these people.
This dynamic is discussed fairly often in analyses of the press I think.
Notably, the OP doesn't mention "cultivating sources" in their bullet points and that's a big source of corruption of individual journalists.
In more detail: one of the most valuable thing a given political reporter on either a local or national level can get is "scoop", the opportunity to break a story first. The valuable source of scoops is ... the very people in power at whatever level the reporter is operating on. So a reporter wants to have these powerful people like them. And that effort to be liked can easily result in the reporter spinning a story to the liking of these people.
This dynamic is discussed fairly often in analyses of the press I think.