[RNCTX]

The counter-argument is that it's easier than ever for an individual to find critical analyses of that information. If you were suspect of the information on TV in 1983 there was no one to tell you any different, unless you put effort into finding it.

Let's put it in terms other than politics...

In the early 1980s a full third of all households in the US watched the TV show "Dallas" every weekend. Was "Dallas" the greatest performance ever made or just the best option out of 3 choices?