The media were the debate’s biggest loser

The media were the debate’s biggest loser: Consider this thought experiment: what could you do if you were never called on anything you said?  Simultaneously, your political opponent is mercilessly persecuted at every turn.  What could you get away with in that lopsided situation?  Would you feel any constraints in making accusations against your opponent, knowing that anything he says will be “fact-checked” and suppressed at your whim?  What could you do with that immense power at your fingertips?