Mass Communication & The internet

The thing that stood out to me is the idea of "a diminished audience for high culture." Along with the Culture as a Skyscraper idea, this seems to make sense. The more low-brow programing, advertising and general distractions that are churned out by the media, the less inclined people will be to look towards more intelligent and worthwhile ways to spend their time. However, I don;t think this is as detrimental as it is set out to be. With the growing use of the internet, the distractions and sources for unintelligent or meaningless forms of entertainment grow as well. Americas funniest video used to be a half hour, or hour (I forget) of people falling, animals falling, a baby doing something "cute," and then some more people falling. This isn't a problem if it let's people laugh for a little bit, but the internet has let that hour a week of people falling down become an endless source of that kind of entertainment, and I love it.
Also, it has provided people with a faster way to find information about anything. Although the sources of information can be suspect at best sometimes, if they pique someones curiosity enough, surely they'll go out and learn about whatever it is they found interesting through other sources. I found out about a great book that lad me to other books by reading band lyrics online, that some people might find to be low-culture content, and contacting the singer who suggested I pick up "The Denial of Death" by Ernest Becker. That led me to explore Carl Jung, Soren Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Freud, not to mention some introspective exploration. All from a band that screams and isn't pleasing to the ear, but holds more value to me than lets say, the ballet.
In terms of younger audiences, I think it boils down to parents taking control of what their children are exposed to, to a certain degree and not letting the media teach their children a skewed perspective of the world. Of course, when parents work, and kids are left to their own devices, this can be difficult. As I was growing up I was pretty bright. I was apparently above high school level in reading and math as far as my progression, but then something happened. That something might have been Nintendo. I was a latch-key kid, left alone from 3 until my mom got home between 5:30 - 7. I wasn't allowed out thanks to some sketchy things in my neighborhood, and I sure as hell wasn't going to spend all that time doing homework, when I could be trying to beat duck hunt, or double dragon.
My cousins, 16, 13, and 10 respectively, are all incredibly bright kids. They're lucky enough to have two parents, one that makes sure they are doing homework, engaged in activities and not rotting away by the tv. BUT, they do play video games; xbox360, ps2, wii, computer, etc. And yes, they watch some typical kid-shows that offer no real education, but it doesn't keep them from being interested in things such as music, science, technology, etc. So while some of the media can be toxic, having control over exposure could make all the difference.