Hysteria would not have much effect if the media wasn't front paging it every hour on the hour. They have perfected the '70's game of "Let's you and him fight...".
I have come (unfortunately) to the conclusion that, like the good five cent cigar, good news is in short supply these days. Not that there isn't any, but that it just doesn't sell advertising on the tube, so if you're looking for some, you need to look elsewhere.
Back, going on a century ago; Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and the Japanese military gained control of the media, They used it as the key means to establishing an overall oppressive state. They weren't in control at the time, but it didn't take long before that changed for the worse.
Seen through glasses with the tint of history, what we have today is different only mainly in the nomenclature.
Read up on the history of the Europe and Asia in 1920's and the 1930's, then compare it with the current triumph of socialism here on our continent.
There are too many parallels for my taste.
Greg