How do Americans get their information?

Increasingly, I wonder how the same world events, local events can be reported so differently depending on who's doing the reporting. (I am sure that this is nothing new, and all message givers have always had their own biases and agendas that lead to a less than "factual" message.)

What I think has changed, is the lack of discussion -- debate that used to go on that truly brought out both viewpoints. Where one could see faulty thinking, half truths and that made the listener question their own interpretations and do some actual hard core thinking, maybe even some self research.

The "right" listens to "right"-leaning radio shows. They watch the news with the same orientation, they read the newspapers that have the same interpretation as they do. Substitute "left" in this sentence and the same applies. If there is an exchange of views, there is nothing of the open, safe, forum that really leads to a good debate, a debate that is not won by denigrating the opponent or by using outrageously subjective or misleading arguments.

I used to love to listen to Rush when he had a caller that disagreed but really knew his stuff, and I came away with some new thought provoking insight. But increasingly, people seldom want to expose themselves to viewpoints with which they don't already agree.

So, Americans get their information from people, TV, radio, newspapers with the same view point as theirs, with the same interpretations as theirs, and with the same thinking as theirs. And we wonder why there are never any candidates with new thinking, solutions, questions, answers, ideas, or insight.