Well, first off, there are other examples (e.g. Sinclair) where it is far more obvious. Lots of local stations are beholden to advertisers and kill the stories.
But it's less "here's today's memo saying how to bamboozle people" and more "person X does Y, the bosses like Y, person X gets promoted/a show/a better timeslot" feedback loop. And the top bosses are selected by the owners. I assume you believe corporate culture can come from the top. Some of this (don't make up stories and sources) is undeniably good. But there is a subtler strain that encourages you to seek out and publish stories you know your bosses will approve of. If, for instance, you started publishing stories about how the KKK was releasing studies that had some really good points you would (rightly) be fired.
I'm not saying you or your coworkers are bad or biased. I'm saying the system you are working within is.
But it's less "here's today's memo saying how to bamboozle people" and more "person X does Y, the bosses like Y, person X gets promoted/a show/a better timeslot" feedback loop. And the top bosses are selected by the owners. I assume you believe corporate culture can come from the top. Some of this (don't make up stories and sources) is undeniably good. But there is a subtler strain that encourages you to seek out and publish stories you know your bosses will approve of. If, for instance, you started publishing stories about how the KKK was releasing studies that had some really good points you would (rightly) be fired.
I'm not saying you or your coworkers are bad or biased. I'm saying the system you are working within is.