It's a done deal.
A big percentage of the American population are not READERS, but TV watchers.
They know little about the past few decades of American history, nor do they care.
They just watch the news.
Local news used to cover what was happening in your county or state.
Now we have major, glitzy megacorporate news like Fox and CNN, which "feel" more important than those local (piddly) news stations. So people watch them 24/7 for the their Glitz Fix.

I have had bets upon turning on the TV news like CNN (and you can try it right at home folks),
to see how long you can go without hearing the words "War on Iraq" every 3-5 minutes.
Try it!
The people are brainwashed with "propaganda" and hype. Just as our TV shows get more and more voyueristic and thrill seeking, shows like "Fear Factor" or "Survivor", the ratings and the mind set seem bent upon the next thrill, the next war, the next bloody carnage, the next bombing or the stuck-to-the-edge-of-your-seat type of fear.
I guess people are lobotomized by now.
There's not much left for them to think about.
They are deadened by the "war for ratings" as doled out to them 24/7.

Are the major networks to blame, in some conspiratorial way, serving their corporate masters by repeating their political values, or are they just uncreative and braindead and they lack any real NEWS coverage? (or at least the stuff they'd be allowed to air?)

I have seen MAJOR issues that should be out in the open here that SHOULD BE available to the public; yet there are blackouts because of sponsors. The bigger the corporations involved, the less they cover the issues. Afraid perhaps of lawsuits ot their bosses getting phonecalls from said sponsors cancelling their support (and perhaps their network.)
Yes, our major networks suck, but if you're diligent enough, you can still get all the news.
But you have to go digging for it, and then nobody knows about it, so you might as well forget about it being important.
America is on a downslide.

Thanks Raoul for the article. People abroad think Americans are stupid, and they are seen this way because they DON'T get the news. We are spoon-fed corporate and political pablum here 24/7.
One reason why my TV at home is NOT hooked up at present, is because I don't want the hooplah being broadcast into my living room. When I'm at home, it's peaceful.
And my mind is occupied with other things.