The four "defining characteristics of the new media" you set out above, are not fulfilled by corporate-controlled mainstream media. These criteria will only be met by corporate-controlled media when they align with the profit-motivated interests of the business elite that run the show. Legislation will not ensure that readers or consumers of mainstream media receive balanced information on matters of importance.

"A free press is critical to a democracy" might be true, but a press monopolised by multi-national corporations is not 'free'. I'd suggest everyone read Manufacturing Consent and get a good understanding of how the distorting filters work in these organisations and how in turn it controls, frames and influences public discourse and democratic process. The reference above to the Guardian and NYT as "top newspapers" is interesting, the NYT in particular played a leading role in supporting US government propaganda in the lead up the the Iraq invasion (this along with many other cases is documented in Chomsky and Herman's book). These organisations respond to corporate power not the public interest; their role is not to sell newspapers to readers; it's to sell readers to advertisers.