Oh how I loved keeping my political opinions a sacred secret!

The battle cry of election year coverage was “attack!” regardless of what side the quotes and gaffes and policy came from. We ripped through to the truth on both sides. I carefully watched myself to make sure that the ripping on one side was balanced by equal scrutiny on the other. It was an exhilarating balancing act that forced me to empathize with opinions that I otherwise never would.

It was mentally exhausting and probably pointless.

Do people still use the news as a lens to challenge their existing views? More likely they seek out news that conforms to their opinion, not conflicts with it. Today we have a media smorgasbord after all where you really can have it your way.

A piece this morning on NPR cites research that supports this thesis.

Being idealist about news consumption has helped me personally refine my political opinions. But the idealist in me might be running into a rough professional reality.