> Integrity of news and journalistic ethics have declined substantially from 2000's and have become very charged with political agendas, sensationalism and emotional pandering hit-pieces.
Depending on exactly what you want to know about, the integrity of the news and journalistic ethics have never existed as anything other than isolated incidents. The press has by and large always been subject to the truth of the powerful, whether the rich owners or the political elite. This is usually by construction - The Propaganda Model from Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman presents a very simple and compelling model of how this happens without any kind of conspiracy being involved.