[ihinsdale]

"What can we do to bring up the baseline and make the vast majority of our mass media better?"

I see Sequiturs (https://sequiturs.com) as taking this problem on pretty directly. It's a tool for crowdsourcing the strongest arguments on a given topic. These arguments are presented in a format that is easily digested and encourages iterative improvement. Sequiturs can 'bring up the baseline' by serving as a reference for discussions to turn to, to gain clarity and avoid reinventing the wheel when considering the in's and out's of an argument. This includes serving as a reference for journalists, in informing the articles they write and the questions they ask of those in power.

Disclosure: I'm the creator of Sequiturs--and would love to know what you think of it!