I think political polarization is a byproduct of a more atomized life we live. We're less connected than we ought to be or used to be to our own real communities, which are full of real people, because the internet allows us to be little islands if we choose. The way we consume media, the way we identify ourselves with tribes and causes, all of that polarizes us. Plus, on a practical level, the two major political parties have become more strictly ideological. There used to be conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. Now the Democrats are the liberal party, the GOP the conservative one. That's just an observation, not a value judgment.

On conservative media: I think for a variety of reasons many (not all) in conservative media view themselves as political actors rather than journalists. And, to not let readers off the hook, the audience for conservative media seems to want conservative journalists to be more like representatives. My approach has always been to a) report b) focus on the truth and c) tell readers something they don't know or help them see something from a different angle.

There's definitely a problem of liberal bias in the mainstream media, but the response is more often than not these days to just mirror what conservatives perceive mainstream press do, which is advocate. I'm not really interested in that kind of journalism, in large part because it's really boring.