I think this is pretty much the right idea, although be it I would not have used words quite as strong as what you did. I rarely watch broadcast news any more. Usually just have it on for a weather report, or for a distraction.
An on line video titled Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land, explained how the main stream media manipulates what show the masses. I looked for it but was no longer available on Google. If any one knows of another link please post it.

i'm not sure i agree with the idea that the entire mainstream media is trying to delibratly dumb down the population, i feel it's a bit of a stretch. ''why blame a conspiracy when simple incompitance will suffice''.

the MSM has one goal, which is not telling the truth or being honourable, it wants to make money. to make money they need to sell advertising space. the more people watch the channel or read the news paper, the more money the channel or paper or whatever can demand for their slots. the best way to draw in the largest crowd is to appeal to the lowest common denominator, so you have tabloid journalism and right wing shouting as a staple diet in the MSM.

the truth is, at this point, all us ats internet junkie types won't watch TV for more than an hour a day anyway, so we're no-ones target audience. we don't bring much advertising revenue to tv. the news media is aimed at people who watch eight hours a day, believe it all and shout at the TV. those people don't particularly want the truth from their news, they want car chases and shoot-outs, they want to believe they're the good guy in a fight against evil, they want to hear about big dramatic storylines with an exhilerating conclusion, and they want to believe they might be part of it.

all the MSM is doing is giving the people what they want, which may be a pain, it may be disturbing and it may be immoral, but it is unlikly to be, in my opinion, a majour conspiracy.

on the other hand........

CNN, BBC and co are far more insidious due to their subtlety and deft hand in whitewashing world events. At least with Murdoch there's no pretending about his Orwellian agenda. Fox news is my fave news channel, purely cos it constantly raises the bar in how flamboyantly detached from reality it is prepared to go.

As soon as one ties together which corporations own each major news organization, it becomes very apparent why the news is such a joke. The MSM nothing more than a propeganda spewing puppet for corporate / gov interests. "Free" press is a total illusion.