Journalists look like parasites in the movies & more on "Watchdogs of Democracy"

In Chapter 2, Helen Thomas shifts from showing the misdeeds of journalists to listing off the times journalists have helped bring about social justice and attention on corruption in government leadership. I found it interesting how she wrote about the change in privacy a public official was allowed. She said that during JFK's administration there had been a "golden rule": that private lives of high-ranking leadership such as the president was off-limits.(23) Obviously that has changed as Thomas points out and as we can see with the Clinton & Lewinsky affair.
It seems to me alot of people perceive journalists as scavengers looking for fresh meat. When journalists get the scent of a scandal or corruption they come flocking. At least that is how the movies and TV depict journalists. I think the big scandalous stories are important and do need to be reported on, but journalists should also be digging deeper and trying to find the real truth. This should be their number one goal in order to inform the people about real issues and concerns that actually affect them. For example, a journalist writes a story about a suicide and talks about the blood and horror. It may be a good story but how does it help or inform. It does inform the people of the act. But what if there are a rash of suicides due to depression in the area. This would be the deeper, more important story to report.
If high officials were doing something extremely illegal or corrupt they could throw many journalists off by putting up a smokescreen, something that distracts the journalists from the important stuff going on. I think this happens a lot actually.
This is why it is important for a journalists to look deep and dedicate themselves to report the important truth and not just the bones thrown to them by the politicians and corporations in power.