Sentence:  It seems to me the time has come for the American press to start experimenting with ways of reporting the news that will do a better job of communicating and will <WSD>be</WSD> less subject to abuse by those who have learned how to manipulate the present stereotype to serve their own ends . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)