Actually it can be much better. As has been argued time and again (including by people who have suffered both), with a totalitarian regimes that controls the press means the population knows to distrust the press.
A "free press" instead, while still controlled by the elites (press empires, their politician buddies, corporatism, etc), on the other hand, gives the false impression of pluralism and trust...
A "free press" instead, while still controlled by the elites (press empires, their politician buddies, corporatism, etc), on the other hand, gives the false impression of pluralism and trust...