It’s interesting to me to see the evolution of things in my lifetime. When I was growing up, there were three sources of broadcast news – CBS, NBC and ABC. They were characterized by their scrupulous reporting and impartiality. There was a time allotted for editorializing, but by and large the news was, as far as we knew, researched and accurate. Ted Turner changed things with CNN, the first 24-hour news channel. At the time I thought, how can you fill up 24 hours with news? At first, it was through repetition of the day’s top stories, but soon it became hour-long shows with different slants on the news. That splintered off into 24-hour channels about every topic you could think of, from movies to fishing to golf, etc. And the news channels themselves became more or less entertainment channels and in an effort to differentiate themselves, opinion channels. Our participation in the social aspect of the internet has introduced another change. Our opinions are the news. The facts of what has happened take only a fraction of the day to report. But our reaction to the event can provide a week’s worth of opinions, debate, and ranting. That’s where the money is. And by keeping themselves in the black this way, the news channels (in my opinion) are encouraging us to shout louder and be a part of an ever smaller community – those people who only share our opinions. So, at the same time that the internet has brought us together globally, it has also helped foster a splintering that is driven by our desire to be respected for our uniqueness.