I happened to think of another book that might be of interest.
Democracy and Its Critics by Robert A. Dahl. A polyarchy, which is a nation-state that has certain procedures that are necessary for following the democratic principle)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyarchy ; among these conditions is that citizens have access to
alternative sources of information that are not monopolized by the government or any other single group (p. 233 in chapter 17).
Ponder the idea of media control by a group such as the inane Tea Party or some anti-democratic religious sect.