Well, I'm a former government employee and I've always been a straight arrow. I can't say the same for the people who flew in the stratosphere, but for the most part, everyone I knew in my "circle" was on the level. It's those high-fliers that paint everyone in a bad light.
I value an informed public over one that's in the dark. Absent being able to hear things for themselves, they'll need to get that all after-the-fact from the news. But they'll never know when their media doesn't do the homework to understand the topic. This kid's a recent J-school grad. He's got his first real job since covering the sports beat for Penn State. If he can continue to make a living off the papers, he'll eventually learn to ask, "Who? What? Where? When? How? And, why?" instead of being spoon-fed the story and risk it coming out all jerky.
And, if the public can't hear things for themselves, reporters who ask the hard questions are all the more necessary.