The relationship between the media and public bodies - including governments - is based on a sort of creative tension.
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. They play by unofficial rules, one of which is that they're supposed to treat each other fairly.
The beneficiary is the public, and what's good for the public is good for the media as well as for the politicians and bureaucrats who run the system.
For example, if a reporter gets onto an exclusive story, those politicians and bureaucrats don't go running to other media to tell them about it.
It's a small thing, maybe, since in this day and age a "scoop" lasts a maximum of about five minutes, but we in the media still try.