Sympathy for the Devil: Has Journalism Sold its Soul?

Are there any bees buzzing around out there who can tell me how and what journalism students are being taught in our institutions of higher learning these days? The media is being seen more and more as a necessary evil or tool of the devil than the once-trusted Fourth Estate. Say it ain't so!

 In fact, It seems as though there's as many comments on today's social media that bash a journalist's spelling and grammar to political agenda -- than there is about the actual news item. As a former print journalist and journalism instructor, it leaves me greatly dismayed.

Are young, budding journalists still being taught the basics of newsgathering and how to report that information as objectively as possible? I'd like to think that's a hypothetical question that's not open to debate, but, I'd really like to read some other views on the subject.

I'd like to garner some input from past and present instructors, professors, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as those working in media today. What's the root cause of this perception? Is it a demonic possession? Is it a lost cause? Is it much ado about nothing? Or, is it the fact that, due to technology, anybody with a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone can pose as a journalist?