Canada and the US have some of the most pliant media out there. It makes me want to throw up every time I see someone interview a power figure.

For example, last year our PM decided to prorogue parliament (ie, like ending a session of congress prematurely) because it was politically expedient. During his end-of-year, he got a soft-ball question and simply dismissed it as business-as-usual (even though it upset people and led to a fair bit of protesting). Meanwhile, people like Jeremy Paxman in Britain thrive on asking tough questions and calling politicians on their bullshit.

If you're a media outlet and you don't want to lose your 'access' you should not be doing your job too well.