There is a growing consensus in the United States that mainstream commercial
media are by and large not mainstream at all but instead are supportive of
the corporate agenda. Of course, the largest media companies (which provide
most Americans' news) and their large advertisers are themselves mammoth
corporations. In addition to promoting policies that advance corporate
interests, our major media often appear to place profits ahead of investing
in in-depth quality journalism.
To be sure, there are numerous web-based, alternative, and
community-supported media challenging the corporate consensus. But for all
their integrity and brilliance, these media outlets cannot challenge
corporate power. They're too small, they don't frame issues on a national
scale, they don't win debates, and they don't set the political agenda.
But there is a sleeping giant among these alternatives, one that was a major
force in our country in the past * and which could be so again. Some of its
overseas counterparts already have demonstrated their power as opinion
shapers. This giant has its own potentially enormous supply of funding --
