i think there ought to exist better alternatives to the mainstream media. much like scientists, professional journalists get things wrong. there should be more journalists working in the field, and fewer who copy-paste stories from Reuters and AP.

too often, you will see news stories from different news outlets that put the same exact spin on things, and they all start to sound the same. the same people are quoted in the same manner. the same aspects are highlighted.

to a conspiracy theorist, this easily looks like a conspiracy, whereas the more plausible explanation is that journalists copy from each other instead of gathering their own information, because this is easier and less expensive.