Professionalism and integrity used to go together.I know from some personal experience that "alternative viewpoint" is something writers are often ordered to write. They do what they are told but don't necessarily believe what they are writing. I believe that is even more rampant on sports talk. Some of them may actually be that stupid and some are just doing what they are told. I honestly don't know how to tell which is which. One thing that I do know is that when these talking heads are proven drastically wrong it doesn't shake them a bit. They make a quick excuse and are on to the next subject.
Now it seems sacrificing integrity is a requirement to perform the job.