That's why the LA Times, Washington Post, and former President Clinton White House staff sued FR back in 1998. Heck, they probably audited Jim Robinson's taxes, too (he's just not the overly-chatty type to broadcast such attacks on his own self).
Going after FR back in 1998 when it had fewer than 20,000 members, versus today when it is approaching 200,000, should tell you that they saw from Day One that Alternative news sources posed a serious threat to their political power.