We’re told we live in the information age. Statements like this often quote the mind-boggling amount of data produced on the internet using exotic-sounding words like zettabytes per day as proof. To function in this sea of data, we’re supposed to find signals in the noise and read from credible sources of news and other information. With news media taking political stances, it’s not that easy.
My assertion, paradoxically, is that polarization has greatly diminished the quantity of information being produced and consumed via today’s press despite the sea of content they produce. The result is a loss of the press’s effectiveness in their two functions within a healthy democracy, as a check on government and promoter of informed debate.