The current debate about opinionated
media is of interest to me. Virginia Postrel has called our
attention to the work of Sendhil
Mullainathan and Andrei Shleifer on the role of competition in
creating a new market for strong opinions in the media.
My perception is different. The genius of Rupert Murdock and Rush Limbaugh in creating new voices in the popular media is much to be appreciated, though Podoretz, Buckley, the Kristols and friends had an important earlier role.
My
view of the current media opinion battle derives from having looked
at newspapers in America over several hundred years. 
We
are still fighting the media battle of the Federalists (Hamilton) and
anti-Federalists (Jefferson) and the anti-Federalists have been in
the ascent for two hundred years until the past decade. We have been
fighting the Civil War and the Confederacy has been in the ascent
until the past decade. The same is true of the Socialism versus
Capitalism battle which is still perceived in the terms dictated by
the Socialists. Capitalism is a Socialist term that is meaningless in
any other context. The battle is really State Command versus the
commercial market. This battle has begun to change though State
Command has been ascendant until recently.
I
think we have the emergence of a new and important battle:
ideologists versus anti-ideologists. That is the media opinion
battle that is going on. What we see are the ideologists fervently
demanding that their view is global, rational and true. The
anti-ideologists arguing for a relativism in politics, policy and
perception.
Yes, opinions are strong; and yes people on each side of the battle prefer to hear their opinions publicly stated in clear, if not vehement, terms. That has always been the case at the early stages of intellectual battles. What we are seeing is the end of several old battles and the vigorous feints and thrusts of a new battle.
Fight on, good men!