They obey the LAW yet aid the Hackers. Dilvulge information the corporations don't want spread and help sell their products to the masses.
As everyone knows information is power and the Media is the master of information and even more importantly public comprehension of that knowledge.
Social watchdogs. Objective observers. Interfering fools. Entertainers. Sleaze Merchants.
It all depends on what channel you happen to be watching.
The LAW allows the media access to its surveilance network giving them access to nearly any event or person. Nanobugs cover nearly every surface piping audio and video back. Journalists microscopic aerostat cameras converge on regions of intrest.
Huge database engines trawl the streams searching for interesting lives to package.
News, lifestyle shows, 'reality' TV and 'live web cam' all converge
"There is no sin in taking pride in your contribution to survival"
Everyone is encouraged to excel and aid society and rewarded with respect and fame if they desire. Sportsmen who push and train our physical boundaries. Engineers, Scientists and philosophers who plumb our mental and spiritual depths. Soldiers who defend our lives and society.
The media datatrawlers find the best and show them, packaging them for public consumption.
Corporate engineers may enjoy watching the gangers in the boreholes, seeing an aspect of life they normally dont. Gangers may enjoy seeing more intellectual pursuits they miss in their normal lives as well as the exploits of 'Heros' they admire in their own fields.
"Demonstrate reality rather than just discuss it"
To be truely famous requires coverage in multiple arenas. eg a mere sportsman is unlikely to be as respected (or famous) as a sportsman/scientist/warrior/soldier. Masters of their fields are often the focus of the spotlight, encouraging more people to follow their lives and teachings. Sensei who allow it may become a real life 'lone ranger' type figure, people following their lives across decades and multiple careers.
The LAW uses the media to show what it wishes. Raids on criminals and assaults on alien invaders. Propaganda. Encouraging the sort of citizens it desires. The Media wouldn't dare annoy the LAW and lose its major source of 'vision'.
The LAW may allow a free press but theres a difference between media with open access to the Omninet and one that has to rely on its own data gathering resources and the media knows it.