The thing is, journalists can and do discuss the ways their coverage is shaped from above all the time -- whether through explicit directives like this one or more soft forms of influence like using promotions and firings to select for certain perspectives -- but this never makes any dent in the insistence on such bromides as "if there was a big conspiracy to control the media some journalists would talk about it." They do talk about it, people just aren't interested in hearing it.
The thing is, journalists can and do discuss the ways their coverage is shaped from above all the time -- whether through explicit directives like this one or more soft forms of influence like using promotions and firings to select for certain perspectives -- but this never makes any dent in the insistence on such bromides as "if there was a big conspiracy to control the media some journalists would talk about it." They do talk about it, people just aren't interested in hearing it.