Somerby says it

I hadn't heard this before from him (he may have said it, of course), speaking of political reporters :

Let’s explain what you’re getting when you’re handed such insulting blather. You’re surveying the work of a criminal class—a group of overpaid, store-bought clowns who are paid their fantastic salaries precisely because they’re reliably fatuous.

That's an excellent portrait of political reporters working in the MSM. Reporters in other areas, such as world affairs bring another set of skills to their party, the use of anonymous sources in the government to promote the governments talking points, the vision of the public's need to know as something the media should filter in their infinite wisdom, here too the talents of reporters and their fat salaries are based on the ability to mislead, the technique is just different.

On a similar note, Wayne Madsen has a Journalist/Government incest chart, it's good stuff, take a look.