They're supposed to be journalists.
They are news readers. I have never understood why everyone gets in such a tizzy over this, be it left or right. The goal of most broadcasts is not to disseminate information. The goal is to make money. And to make money, you must have attractive folks who appeal to the viewers. More viewers = more money. Decades ago, the corporate money meisters decided that they needed a Ken-and-Barbie Happy Talk presentation to attract eyeballs. Then it was a balanced diversity. Now the current approach is lots of "look at this videotape" or "see this crazy person" or "look what is the most popular youtube video" or "let me tell you what I think". The money men think that news readers have to bond with their audience of viewers, many of whom are sitting alone in front of their TV and need some company.
Folks on TV pretend to be journalists, sorta like how race car drivers pretend to be athletes, or reality stars pretend to be important, or message board devotees pretend to be accurate fonts of knowledge. Sure, some -- maybe many -- fit the bill, and do it extraordinarily well. But plenty of them miss the boat. Big time.
