That was all it was really. They needed the image of respectability and prestige to capture the people's trust so that the propaganda could be conveyed en masse, which wasn't possible until the advent of broadcasting. That's why the profession of "journalism" and the fourth estate was created. Now that anybody can report the news, that establishment is dead. The "real" reporters who actually bought in to that polished image of professionalism have abandoned the house. All that's left is the outer structure waiting to collapse. Without censorship, it can't ever be rebuilt. We're returning to the old roots of the reporter profession, which was always seen as tabloid trash before the 1940s.
That was all it was really. They needed the image of respectability and prestige to capture the people's trust so that the propaganda could be conveyed en masse, which wasn't possible until the advent of broadcasting. That's why the profession of "journalism" and the fourth estate was created. Now that anybody can report the news, that establishment is dead. The "real" reporters who actually bought in to that polished image of professionalism have abandoned the house. All that's left is the outer structure waiting to collapse. Without censorship, it can't ever be rebuilt. We're returning to the old roots of the reporter profession, which was always seen as tabloid trash before the 1940s.