Who is a legit writer these days?

MLB.com's writers in question:
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/382285/divided-baseball-writers-will-vote-on-whether-to-let-mlb-com-scribes-into-their-association/


And some education reporters, too:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2015/10/29/fd03d240-79cc-11e5-b9c1-f03c48c96ac2_story.html


http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/378943/gates-foundation-spending-on-journalism-7-million-a-year/