Folks like this are independent journalists, once it becomes a profession for them.

I think the assumption is that a news agency or company will have a chain of accountability, fact checkers, editors, etc. that can, in theory, give some assurance of factuality, credibility, and responsibility. Also, authenticity: did they hire a properly qualified journalist or some dude who is interested and has opinions?

In practice, of course, billionaires have seized the means of social reproduction in media and policy, so that is mostly bullshit. Agencies run by journalists themselves are still worth paying attention to. Even the billionaire media has to pay attention to credibility at least, so some of what they do is factual.

Omission and defining the boundaries of discussion are the quiet lies.