There was a post here last week in which it was reported the that Kerry's' capitol hill aides were bragging that "The media is committed to the election of Kerry".
Things could change, but as of now I think Kerry knew that they main stream media would have more to lose than himself and thus he was rest assured that he'd have their backing.
Imagine being the guy that the media pundits blame as a major factor in the demise of the man stream media. The short time it took the MSM to basically disavow Al Gore pales compared to how they'll turn on Kerry and then forget him.
Yet, in the end, it is the MSM that has been its own worst enemy.
There's solid reasoning why the MSM was able to pull it off backing bill Clinton. It went to their heads. They got cocky and dropped their guard. Which was especially bad judgment considering this new medium/forum called the Internet was and is changing the power structures.