Any media company that has to profit has to be looked at with sceptical eyes. As with scientific studies sponsored by, say wine producers, you have to look at the results with that in mind. State run media has to be treated in the same way too.
In the U.K. the mainstream media like the BBC has an obligation to be neutral politically. They also do investigative work that can highlight all sorts of things including governmental issues. Whilst not being perfect and whilst trying to be neutral I don't think they always achieve that.
Printed media in the U.K. Is awful. The Express and Mail "newspapers" are so biased it is embarrassing. The quality of, and I hate to use the word for them, journalism is awful. They aren't quite fake news but they are just shite. The likes of The Times and Guardian are probably more respected but not without their own faults and bias.
In the US you have the extremes. Fox and Brietbart for example are pro Trump and in there eyes he can do no wrong and never question him or challenge anything he says. You then have the likes of CNN etc. who do challenge what he says and because they don't agree with Trump have become fake news. In the US, a lot of the independent media seems to be progressive leaning towards the democrats. So there doesn't seem to be a mid-ground, it is either left or right.
Recently CNN retracted a report that was factually wrong. That is the right thing to do yet were taken to task over it. Fox however, are just a cauldron of ignorance and I honestly find it disturbing that Trump believes what they say if he is so intelligent. I forced myself to watch Fox and Friends a few times in order to have my own option rather than take others views. The racism, sexism and so on would get Fox banned if they played BF4!
Nixon did the same sort of thing and it didn't go that well for him. Media has changed but what we are seeing is a lot of the current administration using the same sort of tactics. It won't go well for this administration either.
