I don't share your optimism, most Americans only get their news in sound bites from the MSM.
During the height of the Clinton's eight year crime wave [ what I have dubbed "The Decade of Fraud(s) ] the was a radio show host named Jack Christy who made the very pointed observation that most people only read the headlines and first sentence in nearly any news article. His larger point being that that accounted for their being so easily misled, spun, and misinformed.
So, you may be right!