A few points. This is the aim, in part, of PR firms/departments: to shape and control the narrative, the public relationship. That a behind-the-scenes method is

A few points. This is the aim, in part, of PR firms/departments: to shape and control the narrative, the public relationship. That a behind-the-scenes method is used to control the relationship should not be a surprise. That it is being embraced by the scientific authorities is surprising, frankly, and disappointing to me. That said, it would be absolutely stunning to peek under the covers of major journalism outfits and understand exactly how the sausage gets made and how the flows of power route. Why does X get covered, Y doesn't? How much do journalists take direction, in practice, from outside sources, and how much investigative journalism do they really do? I don't know.