is the media helping accelerate the dividing of the american people?

[KCBA]

First of all, one must remember that the purpose of the media in this country is, by and large, not to disseminate information so that people can make up their own minds, but rather to sell products advertised on their programs/websites.

Controversy sells. Consensus doesn't.

Also understand that TV news has conditioned us to expect news to be given to us in small, easy to understand bites. Gone are the hours long analysis of an event, shown from every point of view. The more simplistic, the easier to fit into the time constraints. This effects the blogosphere as well; most posters know that reader's eyes tend to glaze over if a piece is too long.

Dumbing down better fits time constraints

The wise person has to look long and hard at a variety of media from around the world, and then weigh the prejudices and bias of said media, before forming an opinion.