Do you think cable news makes people dumber? Why or why not?

I tend to believe channels like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and the like are destroying any sense of civil, intelligent political discourse in this country. I mean I believe it's important that the American people have easy access to up to date information but I wonder if cable news is worth the trouble it wreaks. News these days is just generally irresponsible. My complaint isn't that the news is too biased. In fact, in most cases I would argue that it isn't biased enough. Or at least in the sense that journalists don't discriminate anymore. The job of a journalist is not simply to deliver information to people. It's about discerning what is and isn't important for people to know. Today cable news channels assume they have to represent every idea no matter how discredited out of some misguided need to be perceived as "Fair and Balanced". Journalism can be fair with out giving credence to all views. They care far too much what we think and not nearly enough what qualified experts think. Its just a bunch of hacks spouting bull$hit and asking us what we think. What do you guys think. Do you ever watch the news and just want to bury your face in your palm?