Your third paragraph really contradicts your second. There is indeed a systematic bias in the news media - the preoccupation with rare, sensational, controversi

Your third paragraph really contradicts your second. There is indeed a systematic bias in the news media - the preoccupation with rare, sensational, controversial and emotive stories. I would argue that this is one of the fundamental causes of misinformation in modern society. The news media conditions us to be fearful and suspicious, to believe that things are only getting worse. No newspaper would ever run the headline "Majority of People Safe and Prosperous" or "Dems, Reps Agree on Most Things". Nobody would ever read a newspaper that gave an accurate depiction of the world around us, because it would be dismally boring. That's the big lie of the 21st century.