The press is investigative --- actually less than 10% of the time do
they investigate
The press is adversarial --- not often because there's too much
cooperation between sources and reporters (for mutual advantage),
etc .
The press is liberal --- personally reporters and editiors in
mainsteream media are fairly liberal quite often but not so much in
their reporting of hard news. (This is changing in newer
media.)
elites may be liberal, but reporters try to be fair usually
There is
no observed effect on news coverage of candidates
Media decides the political agenda -- not really. Media may
get us to focus on specific issues but doesn't seem to be effective
at telling people what they should think about those issues.
but how individuals use media and who uses media may set agendas
in society and politics
The press behaves seriously -- not really. Entertainment and $(profits)
are the key issues for those who make decisions for large media.