Historically, journalism has acted as a "fourth branch of government", yet in recent times, regressive media consolidation has lead to a usurpation of this check on government and a stranglehold on information due the people. Television and cable internet are controlled by just seven companies: The Walt Disney Company, CBS Corporation, Viacom, Comcast, Hearst Corporation, Time Warner, and News Corporation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly#United_States
In this state it is too easy for a few wealthy interests to control the information that is disseminated to the people. This leads to a slanted, unrealistic view of the world that deliberately misinforms the public with the goals of influencing public opinion, popular discourse, and preventing reform within any realm of government.