Bashing old foes

If you are a good reporter or opinion writer, you can write a perfectly accurate story or column and yet not quite tell the truth.
Bill Cotterell is a veteran reporter of 50 years and may know more about Florida government than anyone.
In this piece he writes about money, lobbyists and influence. It is well written and I would not take issue with anything he writes.
Yet.
He is deploring two of the liberal media's favorite targets, money and lobbyists.
Liberals don't like people who support (conservative) politicians financially so they constantly decry such support. Hillary Clinton outspent Donald Trump 2-to-1 and still lost, but it didn't damage the narrative that those with the most money win.
They also hammer lobbyists. In his column Cotterell's main point is that some politician claimed he listened only to lobbyists who contributed to him.
That could be defended by noting that politicians are always pressed for time, and hearing first from those who support you would make sense.
But, aside from that, it doesn't make sense. To prevail in debate on an issue, you have to know both sides. Not to mention that you should know both sides before choosing one to support. Maybe politicians choose a side and then listen to lobbyists who can supply good talking points.
As a reporter, I always wanted to know both sides so I relied on lobbyists as well as legislative staff members. A good lobbyist won't lie, but he will leave out points his counterpart will supply.
Readers must always remember that the media considers lobbyists to be rivals. The media wants to be the sole source of information to politicians and voters. It doesn't like competition.
If a politician from one party listens only to lobbyists who support him, guess what? Politicians from the other party listen only to the lobbyists who support them! Then they argue it out in debate. It's called democracy.