There was a time, about fifty years, that news was mainly straightforward. It was still all about the readership and the viewers, but it was still pretty straight forward. With the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in the 1980s, though, the door was opened to allow fake news to shine through. I find it humorous how upset the alt right is about the sudden discovery of fake news. The left has been pointing it out for most of the last 30 years and have been told that there's no such thing.