The media should have been reporting on candidates and issues, not on misspellings and rumors.
Most listeners have full-time jobs and families to support.
It is much easier to flip on the television than to spend hours reading and researching and newspapers and magazines. Consequently, if the media's information is false, the viewer suffers. It searched for well hidden secrets, from avoided drafts to Nixon connections. It is a branch which holds the same powers of checks and balances, although the checks outweigh the balances. The media continuously checks the government by reporting to the people, while the government tries to maintain balance by using the courts, ruling on the ethics of the media.