The late New York senator Daniel Patrick Monyihan, who famously said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." AP photo via USA Today.
All the shouting and screaming on cable news talk shows may seem to passing viewers like a world series of debating. But listen closely over time, and you'll notice an odd phenomenon: for the most part, the guests aren't really debating at all, because they're largely in agreement with each other. And so are their viewers.
A new Pew Foundation study concludes that a sizable, and increasingly influential, segment of the American public lives in a "media bubble" that seeks out only the news outlets whose philosophical slant they find attractive. That's bad for democracy, argues media columnist Rem Reider. "We are a nation with a growing number of people who aren't open to debate... They gravitate to venues where never is heard a discouraging word about their take." Courtesy USA Today.