I also think a flipped version of this is also valid:

Assange clearly was selective about release of information and timed his releases to affect political outcomes, which discredited him in my eyes and many others.

But that just adds to the pile doesn't it? It shows that trustworthy agenda-free journalism is exceedingly rare even in the "alternative" media and activist journalism world.

If you have an audience that trusts you, you have power. Power corrupts.

I don't think there ever was an age in which journalism was significantly more trustworthy than today. I think we just had fewer options and less opportunity to look behind the curtain.