Blair told that the British media behaved like a "feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits".
He added that senior figures in public life had become "totally demoralised" by the unbalanced nature of reporting.
The Prime Minister even went as far as saying that the sensationalist media now threatened politicians' "capacity to take the right decisions for the country''.
As the media market moves to internet-based news and 24-hour television news channels Blair highlighted that increasingly new is being driven "by impact'".
He called for there to be more of a distinction between news and comment.
In particular, with newspapers increasingly moving online, he said the regulatory systems for papers and TV needed to be revised, as they are still being monitored by separate watchdogs.
Blair said: "As the technology blurs the distinction between papers and television, it becomes increasingly irrational to have different systems of accountability based on technology that no longer can be differentiated in the old way."
The full text of Blair's speech can be seen below:
