Assange's political persecution and the press

Paranoids have enemies too so the issue ought not to be Mr. Assange's character but whether there is substance to his claims of political persecution. Indeed, an even more important issue is the whether the reluctance of the media to investigate that possibility, (particularly the multiple oddities in the manner in which Sweden is conducting its handling of the accusations), reflects successful government intimidation of the free press. There is plenty of smoke in this case so why are corporate media -- perhaps too vulnerable to government reprisals -- not looking for the fire?

Here are some links for those who may be interested in seeing what "main-stream" corporate media is not choosing to report: 

Assange Extradition Fact Sheet
Assange Beseiged
Sex, Lies and Julian Assange
How the so-called guardians of free speech are silencing the messenger