I am... unfamiliar with the ecosystem of print newspaper appliance reviews, but I can tell you that having sloppy or obsequious reviews isn't generally a sign of having taken a bribe or even having any direct influence from the manufacturer. Reviewing things is hard, by definition you are not in the same position as the people who will buy the thing later. It can be difficult to make that shift and appreciate value, particularly when it comes to tech where reviewers are often assessing the cool factor of whatever is new on the market while users just need a tool for everyday life.

Also, good reviews and hostile reviews aren't the same thing. This depends a lot on what is being reviewed, and it's not to say extremely protective reviews are bad themselves. This is more true in media reviews than on tech reviews, but even on tech reviews, some of my favorite people working generally provide fairly positive reviews, or very neutral spec reviews with relatively little judgement. Very often I don't need to be protected from harm, I just need a savvy overview of a thing before I pull the trigger.

But also, let's be clear, don't book product placement that looks like a review. And if you do, make it a full on ad and make sure it's presented as a sponsorship, although even when big names do that while trying to stay honest, or because they genuinely like the thing I don't particularly like it.