I had some casual dealings with Lynn Sweet early in her career. She made it very clear that she knew which people and which groups of interest in the media controlled the prestige and opportunities for advancement in her chosen career. She made it very clear that she worked for them. In the same way that an attorney does "whatever it takes" to help get his client off, she worked for the interests of the people whose approval she sought.
BTW, sometimes that worked to the benefit of my agenda at the time.