[WS:] I am a bit baffled by the premise implicit in the subtitle - which assumes that the mass media are supposed to be a rampart of democracy but somehow "failed" to perform that role. I always thought that all they were about was selling (not-so) intellectual commodity and making a buck, and the "democracy" shtick was just a PR gimmick. It is like saying that GE "failed" a greater social good because it did not "bring goods things to life."
Wojtek