"They learned how to buy up media so they could control the stories the people tell themselves about what's going on in their society...." That is one of the biggest problems. The press, as it stands today, is not a check on the system. Even a hundred years ago, when it was owned by rich individuals (Hearst, Pulitzer, etc), they had their own interests which did not always align with the Government and would say so. They would even war with each other and create differing opinions. The uniformity of the MSM today is frightening.