For journalists, this is a discouraging time of massive layoffs, ethical lapses and declining relevance. Technology lets audiences abandon legacy media, leaving financial crisis. We wring our hands and wonder how to "monetize" the journalism that is essential to be free and self-governing.

Into that gloom comes Robert McChesney with a simple, if radical, proposal: Use this critical juncture to democratize our media system. Media policy will be rewritten in the next decade. The new rules can enhance market control by the rich and powerful or reduce social inequality and enrich democratic institutions. The choice, McChesney says, is ours.