Does media seek a fight or simply more balance?

There are more than two sides to every story

A reader complained this week about the lack of articles on the public school board, and the apparent abundance of those from the Catholic school board.

Further, this reader asserted, negative stories about the public school board were at the front of the paper, and the positive ones were at the back.

If you are a regular reader of this column, this will sound familiar.

Not necessarily about the Catholic and public school boards, but the unfair treatment of so many other apparently opposing groups.

Society has always been polarized, but it certainly seems worse these days: Progressive and conservative. Right and left.

Male and female.

Black and white.

Rich and poor.

Rural and urban.

Young and old.

East and west.

Quebec and Ontario. Maritimes and Prairies. Motorists and pedestrians. Labour and management. War and peace. Owners and renters. Vegetarians and omnivores. Catholics and Protestants. Jews and Muslims. Techies and Luddites. Vaccination proponents and opponents.

Maskers and anti-maskers. Developers and tree huggers. Freedom lovers and law abiders.

New lines seem to be drawn daily.

And media are often accused of playing favourites.

The fact is journalists try hard not to, and perhaps that’s the problem.

Editors often take solace in the fact that opposing sides complain equally about coverage, but increasingly, journalists are accused of making things worse by seeking to report all sides of an argument.

The media have been accused of looking for a fight, which is true.

Journalists also amplify the nonsensical ramblings of untethered politicians and other crazies. We have made many of them famous, to our chagrin.

But would they have found an audience anyway? Politicians may be the worst offenders when it comes to polarizing the electorate.

Today, social media has exacerbated the situation like never before, deepened the divides, fed the fires.

Yes, humans have always enjoyed combat — verbal, athletic, military or otherwise.

And we have always sought, unfortunately, to alienate “the other.”

When will we remember that despite our differences, we have much in common? We agree on most things.

So when will enough be enough?

When will we try harder to get along?

Do we even want to?