That may be part of the explanation, but I very much doubt it constitutes a significant part. Whenever the omnipotence and/or moral authority of the bureaucracy

That may be part of the explanation, but I very much doubt it constitutes a significant part. Whenever the omnipotence and/or moral authority of the bureaucracy is challenged the media rushes to its defense. The typical way it does this is to vilify those who raised the objections. See: labor unions, Martin Luther King, jr., Michael Moore, WikiLeaks/Julian Assange, Al Gore, Joe and Valerie Wilson, Thomas Drake, #occupy, Bradley Manning, and now Snowden and Greenwald. I'm sure there are other examples.