So long as multinational corporate media controls the messaging, you can expect the fear porn to effectively control the masses. Hitler's Mein Kampf should be taught in school (or perhaps The Myth of the Twentieth Century), as the means by which "the people" can be influenced and their perception of reality guided are still used today.
What most people talking about corporate media and "fear porn" (eyeballs for advertising) fail the mention though is that there's also a ton of independent "fear porn" (fear of government, fear or corporate media, etc.) produced under the guise of anti-corporate or anti-government or anti-random-thing. Meanwhile they're all getting paid by our advertising overlords.
Getting rid of corporate media doesn't suddenly solve this problem. The alarmist torch will continue to burn bright because of advertising.
