Whoever controls information controls the narrative, and by extension, they control whoever is reading, watching, and listening. For much of our history, people's options for receiving the news were limited, with word of mouth being the most prominent form. With the written word came pamphlets, books, newspapers, and radio. 

Then came television. Television was a game-changer because like a radio, it brought the news directly into the home of listeners and viewers, but unlike radio, television brought live coverage with the addition of pictures and video. 

 The thing that television, radio, and newspapers all had in common is that you generally had to be somebody, such as a journalist, to be heard. This brought a level of credibility, and for a while, it seemed that the news was primarily brought to us with facts so that the consumer could make their own informed decision.