media agency: the next endangered species?

i used to work in media department earlier and media agency later for the last 16 years.
big agencies, big names, big money. fair enough.
but since i left the agency, 6 month ago, i begin to look at them in a more disenchanted way.
results (with some exception, indeed)?

- no big changes in all these years
- money comes mostly from buying and not from strategy or planning
- in some countries, money comes part from client and part from media owners
- no real standing to say to a client don't go on tv (e.g.) or challenge him/her on strategic approach
- no real standing to tell to a client that the agency job is worth more than the miserable commission paid on average

media agencies had the great chance, around mid 90s, to become the real comunication center and this because they had in their hands the research on target definition. but the focus went on the commission to be paid for planning and buying. so they became a commodity and commodities are choosen by their price.

now with a media scenario more and more fragmented, new media already on stage and other probably to come shortly, again there is a chance for media agency to evolve from this commodity position.

the future of media agency may be in shift the buying into separated entity and keep in house the strategic process. becoming think tank they can leave the commodity area and negotiate a fee for buying and a remuneration for the strategy and planning.

will they grab it or will they be the next outsourcing service?