I wish I could just embed this video but I can't. In this TED Talk, David Putnam discusses the role that the media(as well as us) has in fostering a better democracy. The current state of mainstream media is sad, and it's doing nothing to make our government better. In fact, it's making it worse.
Perhaps it's time for a change in policy. No more inflammatory remarks, how about straight up facts? Let the people decide.
Here's the link to the talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_puttnam_what_happens_when_the_media_s_priority_is_profit.html