"Swingman" wrote in
:

....
The net effect is two "extreme" viewpoints, as we now see on talk
radio and much of the print media, and very little of the moderate
discussion that followed in the wake of multiple sources of news in a
region (ie. the three newspapers in a town, versus one). This state of
affairs is even more obvious if you can remember the relatively more
moderate political atmosphere between WWII, Korea and the Vietnam War.


I think the media are finding that they can get ratings by catering to and
cultivating the extremes. For the most part, I think their actions can be
explained by simple greed for ratings. They basically slant the news so as
to tell their viewers what the viewers want to hear.

It's interesting to watch the news as presented on the BBC World News or on
SCOLA. Frequently a different take than our media.

I am too young to remember WWII or Korea (I was born three months after
Kennedy was assasinated). But I am pretty sure that in today's polarized
environment a really good moderate president (say Eisenhower IMHO) could
never be elected.