I think news media is too large and diverse to categorize it in one class. My experience with the New York Times and the Washington Post with events that I witnessed or in which I played a role was that they were accurate. There are exceptions that scare people. Recently, I noticed that the Times went after Elliot Spitzer and Charlie Rangel. I believe they knew certain facts but could not publish the sources. When they report a weasal article, people came out of the woodwork with negative stories. Rangel had the gall to have several rent-controlled apartments in NY, an impossibility in theory.
My law school roommate came to national promiinence after an internationally reported disaster. I knew her personality was important to understand the story. She appeared on Larry King, the front pages of the New York Times,Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. When we were in school, she was a publicity whore. She was a legend as an undergrad at Harvard and the law school for doing idiotic public appearances. She was going to compete in Miss America. I waited and waited for someone to come forward. Finally, I called the reporter for the Times and said I was shocked that the Times was not putting her remarks in context. She could be raising the correct points with the wrong personality. I had some short stunning examples but I did not want to use my roommate status to correct the record. He found the sources and added her personality trait to the series of articles. I felt bad for her as a person but she did force herself on a national news story.
The New Yorker did a lengthy piece on the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. It was not a fluff piece. The writer focused on tensions within the clergy. When I had some free time, I volunteered there daily and became friendly. I thought no one could easily understand the dynamics b/c it was driven by egos. It tooks me years to figure it out. I was shocked when I read the article. He reported details with such accuracy. I wonder how they do it.
I enjoy C-Span. There are numerous articles about online independent news reporting from regular consumers. The impact is clear. Whenever I need to follow a news story for professional or personal reasons, I read several newspapers.
NYC could not exist with only the New York Times. Its local coverage is uneven. Many times I had to purchase and walk around with a visible New York Post or Daily News. I remember when The New York Post was respectable.
Prominent people in the news generally will make personal comments about how a newspaper screwed them. I wanted to be a journalist.
