By and large, the media are represented in a "how dare they bother and crtisize our heroes?" fashion, when we, the viewers, know so much better. And that irritates me.

Yeah, I have to say this isn't that unusual in American shows/movies of the time, but it is disappointing in the context of what's a visionary show in many other ways. I think, as you've said, the 'West Wing' has changed that a bit -- together with events of the last decade that make some people sit up and say, 'hey maybe an activist independent media would be a *good thing to have*. But in general, in the 80s & 90s, if media weren't specifically set up as the crusading heroes, they were generally shown as dumb and/or evil.