Journalism, particularly at the highest level, is about raw power
&gt;&gt; They felt that way because papers like the Post could offer the carrot of great exposure to those who needed it, but also, always, the stick of negative coverage to those who spurned them. There is nothing devious or ignoble about this; a powerful press, for all its flaws, is good for democracy<p>No, doing hit pieces on <i>anyone</i> is a flagrant exercise of power that deserves no respect and destroys the credibility of the press. Stick to reporting facts and not exercising power and you&#x27;ll fare much better.<p>A recent example that was fascinating to me: during an emerging global crisis (covid19) the president of the USA held a press briefing to discuss the situation. A reporter was called on to ask a question by the president himself. That reporter decided to insinuate that the president was racist in addition to asking a question. The president&#x27;s response included &quot;you&#x27;re a terrible reporter&quot; in addition to answering the question. I&#x27;m sure that guy and his organisation were not welcome back, and rightly so. Keep your editorial shit on the page it belongs, or in another story. There is a place for that, but it&#x27;s not during a press conference with &quot;the leader of the free world&quot; during a global crisis. And yet the MSM went wild over how bad the president was for calling out a reporter&#x27;s bullshit.<p>Stick to the facts and the story or you will be rightly identified as something other than a source of information.