In the words of Mon Montha from Andor:

They don’t even bother to lie badly anymore! I suppose that’s the final humiliation.

While there were always problems with bias (esp. to the ownership) of outlets, it feels there were stronger social-mores or collective beliefs that still helped curb things.

Consider the difference between a biased judge that needs to appear unbiased--or considers it part of their self-identity--versus one who does not.