I think I plainly said somewhere in this thread, perhaps farther down, that the mass media cannot be an educator in and of itself. But for kids learning how to read, and learning their alphabet for the first time - it certainly reinforces what is being taught to them.
The Mass media could do an even better job, if there were more educational programming were available.
The tool is good, but it all depends how the tool is used. If funding is cut, then the tool is not able to be used.