The same people who pride themselves on hating journalists tend to make/consume primarily infotainment and refuse to acknowledge what reporting is, because they& #39;d rather pretend they& #39;re the same thing

Journalism isn& #39;t just "research." Journalism is finding sources, interviewing them, and corroborating new information that isn& #39;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& #39;t pretend everyone can do that until you yourself, at the very least, have proven you can. It& #39;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.