Your assessment of the media is also interesting, but consider the media coverage in the Snowden case.
It focuses 99% on the personage of Snowden. Almost zero coverage about what was revealed.
This method is not new, it is repeated with each whistleblower.
The effect is to maintain the ignorance about what is revealed, and focus entirely on the intrigue of the manhunt. It becomes an adventure and human interest story rather than anything that can affect policy or government.
It was the same with Bradley Manning. Americans know a lot more about his sexual issues than they do about anything that he revealed.
Americans are instructed to be afraid of our "enemies".
To be fair, Snowden made this all about him anyway. In front of the camera from day 1, regular interviews and statements, flirting with various countries for asylum, etc. Bottom line, his story quickly became way more interesting than the NSA-spies-on-people shocker.
Do you imagine that Snowden is in control of the edit? Or even when the camera is on or where it is pointed?
Or that he has a choice of whether a picture of PRISM or his face is on the screen for the masses?
If so, than even you sir, have been duped along with all the rest of us.
Anyway, put your bitcoins away. Snowden's getting plenty of Rubles for his troubles.
He may be his generations Annie Machon (MI5 whistleblower on the Qadaffi assassination plot), if he survives so long.
http://anniemachon.ch/Americans generally do not know any of this, mostly because of apathy.
Snowden's other option (if he wanted to out these systems due to his burden of conscience) would have been to leak the information anonymously. What would have happened then is a massive internal manhunt to the great detriment and suffering of a vast number of his colleagues. So taking the heat on it personally was probably less to do with his egoism than you might suggest.
I would never have done it myself. I have far too much to lose to be revealing secrets, about anything. And I selfishly value my trustworthyness more than any imagined potential benefit to society that might come from what he did. Due to the the political perversity principle, it is just as likely to have the opposite of whatever effect Snowden intended.
But it can be fun to point out what is in the public domain already, and taking a fresh look at the relevant interests and how they are aligned and opposed is engaging for some strategic thinkers.
I don't have any reason for, (or even any way of) either being for or against him as a person, a criminal, or a hero, but observing the interplay of reactions has to be engaging food for analysis.