The same people who pride themselves on hating journalists tend to make/consume primarily infotainment and refuse to acknowledge what reporting is, because they'd rather pretend they're the same thing

Journalism isn't just "research." Journalism is finding sources, interviewing them, and corroborating new information that isn't public knowledge. You also have to be able to reach the people being accused of things for comment and weigh their response against the claims.

Don't pretend everyone can do that until you yourself, at the very least, have proven you can. It's not easy and often requires institutions with lawyers, editors, and fact-checkers to protect journalists from legal liabilities that arise from this type of work.