I agree absolutely about the mass media. I have had a TV maybe 2 years out of the last 35 (quite a few years ago) and see maybe one movie every two years. If that.
I still watch TV daily. But only choice programs and I mute out the commercials. You won't believe how much better that makes the experience. Not because they are annoying, but because 99% of them are propaganda or just pandering to anyone with a dollar. It didn't used to be that way, but that's the reality of it now. But all that goes away when you can't hear them.