TheLeech wrote on Oct 25, 2012, 21:19:
You've never heard of most journalists, so you shouldn't paint with such a broad stroke. As a former "real" journalist and a current "fake" journalist, I can tell you that your average reporter at a newspaper is just trying to cover their beat to the best of their ability. Where you will find influence peddling is higher up the chain, with "name" journalists or columnists, and even then, you're looking mostly at the national media.

If it helps, think of games journalists as B2B journalists. It's a much more symbiotic relationship than actual newspaper journalism.