Al Gore's take on the media and the threats to democracy

I'm currently participating in a seminar called "Media System and Media Culture: USA". I've never been to the US and I've barely talked to people from the US about the issue, but from the things I've learned during the seminar until today, the US-media system is in a terrible state that endangers democracy at its core. Once again, Al Gore proved to be one of the brilliant minds of today. I know it's long, but I urge everyone to read the following paragraphs. If I ever doubted the need for media & communication studies, this essay showed me that there is one. I'm really interested in other people's opinion on the issue, especially those people that are more familiar with the US media system.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/5/14301/6133