Hiring journalists is just a filtering mechanism. For every position at a mainstream news media outlet, there are probably 1,000 applications minimum. Finding someone who will say and write exactly what you want them to say and write is trivially easy, and you won’t have to pay them very much at all because the work is so desirable. No coercion or direct orders required; propaganda is just a function of choosing whom to hire, whom to fire, and whom to promote.
Hiring journalists is just a filtering mechanism. For every position at a mainstream news media outlet, there are probably 1,000 applications minimum. Finding someone who will say and write exactly what you want them to say and write is trivially easy, and you won’t have to pay them very much at all because the work is so desirable. No coercion or direct orders required; propaganda is just a function of choosing whom to hire, whom to fire, and whom to promote.