They've done more to cover stories than the usual corporate-owned news outlets, that's for sure.
USA news is a joke, honestly.
Vice? Pbs? NY Times? Your argument is invalid.
Vice - Started in toronto, is global - not a USA owned news outlet (ref: http://www.vice.com/shane-smith )
PBS - Oh look, they're funded by corporations and "government agencies" - I'm sure they never get that phone call to pull a show, lol (ref: http://www.pbs.org/producing/funding/)
NY Times - Well, besides stonewalling on the NSA story - hey, we can't have REAL coverage in a US Publication (ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "Ethics Incidents" section) The Ochs-Sulzberger family trust controls roughly 88 percent of the company's class B shares, with good 'ol "Carlos Slim" pumping in the rest.
Nice one, you have an old monied family and a Mexican billionaire calling the shots - not to mention their checkered history with owners influencing stories. Not really good examples.
Excellent points. Anyone who thinks pbs or the nytimes is not a government authoritarian mouthpiece hasn't been paying attention.