I don't understand the preoccupation with the "media." It doesn't seem to me like news sites had much to do with this saga. Is there a mountain of unfair cover

I don't understand the preoccupation with the "media." It doesn't seem to me like news sites had much to do with this saga. Is there a mountain of unfair coverage I didn't see? It seems kind of obvious that Reddit is much more "the media" than any clickbait news site. And wasn't the whole point of "blacking out" subreddits to gain media attention?