[Lucky Dog]

Unfortunately I think viewers will gravitate towards those news outlets that more accurately reflect or reinforce their own world views.

Ultimately, it still comes down to economics. The news outlet that best delivers audience for advertisers becomes the most successful. News consumers drawn only by their own biases to news sources reflecting similar biases will work only so long as the consumers maintain those biases.

Reality has a nasty way of eventually intruding upon biases that are not grounded in fact. However, if they are grounded in fact, they really aren't biases, are they?

However, the above analysis is predicated upon a "free marketplace of ideas." The minute such ceases to exist, so does the ability of "reality" to correct bias. Therefore, maintaining "freedom of the press" and economic freedom is essential.

[refermech]

Yes, facts are stubborn things. I hope you are correct. Past history is not encouraging though. Even though we can vote with our wallets, I would say the press has become more biased in the last 20 or so years. The mechanisms for correction are there, but the public isn’t doing their part.(they are being fed bad information by the press!)