As long as the media outlets fully operate within Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model, then they are definitely part of the problem!

Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model uses five "filters" to explain how mass media shapes public opinion to favor dominant interests. These filters are: ownership (media conglomerates prioritizing profit), advertising (media selling audiences to advertisers), sourcing (reliance on powerful institutions for news), flak (negative responses to inconvenient news), and a "common enemy" like anti-communism or the "War on Terror" to focus public outrage.

The news media isn’t the biggest threat to American politics—it’s a double-edged sword. When driven by partisanship and sensationalism, it fuels polarization and mistrust, but when grounded in truth and accountability, it strengthens democracy. The real challenge is promoting media literacy and responsible journalism, so the press serves as a safeguard for democracy rather than a source of division.

Hello,

Though, I didn’t delve into it in my review (see the link below) it would be interesting to see what Tocqueville had to say about the “news media” of his time in his “Democracy in America.”

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1X25ON3BOBK99/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Other books mentioned in that review may also be helpful such as Harai’s recent “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI”

https://www.amazon.com/review/R36XIBD30SVWUT/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Among the culprits you are seeking may be more apparent in two other books, Ammerman’s “The Invisible Brand” as well as Donovan and Dreyfuss’s “Meme Wars”

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1FCG899SYITD2/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2BW41EG75P5UI/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Hope these references may be of help.

Best,

Fred