Not to mention, the largest media distributors / syndicates were parroting increasingly right-wing talking points instead of staying neutral or simply presenting the facts and letting the viewer come to their own conclusions.

there is no left-wing media machine that even comes within a billion light years of the strength of the right-wing machine. Effectively, the entire spectrum is owned by hard-right billionaires.

Media has fallen victim to the need for continuous profits (because they have been targeted over and over by bad faith right wing actors) and the journalistic integrity of the 4th estate has effectively been weaponized by the people who need to be named and shamed.