I would be more sympathetic to newspapers and journalists if they were neutral observers, but as you say, the line between news and commentary is blurred and it seems everyone in media has picked a side. I think forcing these papers to do some basic fact checking would slow down the "must report first and damn the facts" mentality. The thinning or elimination of the fact checking people was the canary in the coal mine.
The problem is that the line between news and commentary at this time is blurred. Hell; we can't even agree on what is true anymore just look no further than the election fraud claims made by the President of the United States.