To begin with, you should always be aware of the motives of the owner. This is why MSNBC stories used to publish a disclaimer that it was partly owned by Microsoft when discussing Microsoft. Likewise, if WaPo was discussing Amazon, you should take it with a grain of salt. But, with Russia Today, you have a Russian owned media outlet that is first and foremost a mouth piece for the Russian Government:
http://www.cjr.org/feature/what_is_russia_today.php
It is a propaganda outlet. When the Russians hacked the Democrats, then sent that data to WikiLeaks, Russia Today then turned around and categorized and sort the various e-mails to facilitate and amplify the damage of such leaks to the Democrats.
In answer to your question about Thom Hartmann and Mike Papantinio, I think we should absolutely be aware of where they are drawing their paycheck. It is no different from when Sheldon Adelson purchased the Las Vegas Review Journal. You had to be aware of whether Sheldon Adelson had any interest in the story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/business/media/sheldon-adelsonspurchase-of-las-vegas-paper-seen-as-a-power-play.html?_r=0
LAS VEGAS — Two days after Sheldon Adelson’s lawyers lost in their attempts to have a judge removed from a contentious lawsuit that threatens his gambling empire, a call went out to the publisher of this city’s most prominent newspaper.
Almost immediately, journalists were summoned to a meeting with the publisher and the general counsel and told they must monitor the courtroom actions of the judge and two others in the city. When the journalists protested, they were told that it was an instruction from above and that there was no choice in the matter.
It is unclear whether Mr. Adelson, who was then in talks to buy the newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal, or his associates were behind the directive or even knew about it. But the instruction came in the first week of November, as negotiations on the sale were drawing to a close. It was an ominous coincidence for many in the city who worry what will become of the paper now that it is owned by Mr. Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate and prominent Republican donor with a history of aggressively pursuing his interests.
Suspicions about his motives for paying a lavish $140 million for the newspaper last month are based on his reputation in Las Vegas as a figure comfortable with using his money in support of his numerous business and political concerns, said more than a dozen of the current and former Review-Journal staffers and local civic figures who have worked closely with him.
Finally, consider that in 2010 Russia itself barred foreign ownership of media properties in Russia. Why? Perhaps because they know better than most about the potential of using such properties to directly interfere in the political discourse of a country:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/26/russia-limit-foreign-ownership-media
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