Not to incite a political battle, but, reporting of those things are fine and dandy... It's when 99% of the time the reporters are modern activists inserting their political agenda to the report, and no longer acting as unbiased, that becomes and is the problem.
I'm not sure how discussing and possibly even debating our points of view needs to turn into a "political battle" but that speaks more to the lack of open mindedness and how deeply one's confirmation bias controls how they perceive things. For a society so full of bravado, absolute assuredness of one's positions, self-righteousness, etc. I'm shocked at how fragile and insecure so many people are over the proposition of discussing anything but the safest, tamest, unanimously agreed upon subjects.
We see it here everyday. Prick the bubble of one's confirmation biases and the disagree button is hit, the rude, insulting attacks begin and the hope for any meaningful discussion is lost. People try to come off so sure of themselves, but the foundation of what they are so sure of is not built on evidence, facts, statistics, etc. but on personal perceptions, urban myths, legends, non-factual opinion of those attempting to manufacture consent, etc.
I just watched several minutes of coverage of the killer storm sweeping across the eastern seaboard on several of the national networks and didn't pick up one inkling of an agenda or editorial influence other than warning folks to be careful and prepared for what is coming to their areas. From my vantage point, the mainstream electronic media is overwhelmingly pro-establishment, pro-military/industrial complex and acts more like cheerleaders and defenders of the status quo than any other perspective.
Folks seem to only remember the history that fits their bias and ignore that the media has ALWAYS played a role in shaping the public's opinions. Nobody here remembers the term "yellow journalism" or how propaganda has crept into the news at various times in our history?
The bookstore shelves are full of volumes on how important the need for MORE critical thinking, healthy skepticism and the urgent need for folks to learn the difference between editorial opinion and investigative journalism.