The narrative at the beginning failed to mention the fascinating reading materials you find in American motels: USA Today, the Gideon Bible, TV Guide...

Actually there is one way that America is less homogenized than Britain. In America, every city has its own daily newspaper, sometimes two, each with its own flavor or style. In Britain, nearly everybody reads one of the national papers. Of course, that means you have more papers to choose from, and my favorite, The Guardian, is much better than anything I've seen in America. People tend to choose a newspaper according to where it stands on the liberal/conservative spectrum (Guardian vs. Telegraph) or intellectual/low-brow spectrum (Guardian vs. Daily Star). In America you're lucky if you have 2 newspapers to choose from, but at least you get to see different papers when you travel.

In Britain, if you want local news, you have to read a local newspaper in addition to your national one. (The local papers don't cover national or international news.) The Brighton & Hove Argus is an example.