There’s a reason why the Gallop poll shows trust in media is around 32% in the US - many don’t conduct themselves with the level of professionalism they should. It may be more accurate - or at least more plausible to the average person -to say Mike and Donna still work to a high standard of verification that many other in the media no longer do.
As I have a similar experience of a reporter literally making up a story which led to a huge PR crisis for both my company and local politicians the reporter had an axe to grind against - and that reporter is still employed by the same organization - my respect for media is very, very low. My working assumption is all reporters have political pressures which influence what they report, and therefore the accuracy of what they report. I don’t think Mike or Donna are immune from that reality.