Sorry, I realize my response was extremely shitty and didn't address your point. It's pointless to exchange Red vs Blue slogans, especially if we're wanting to have an actual discussion. Rooting out bias in reporting is a daunting task -- dare I say impossible to attain. Especially with the trend of 24-hour media. Especially with twitter journalism and the relentless pursuit of clicks. That's not to say it shouldn't be a goal.

Journalism, as a profession, attracts narcissists, whose only real desire is to be seen as an influencer, without any real qualms about whether the information they report on is real and factual, so long as it keeps them in the limelight. Any prestigious media outlet will seek out prestigious journalists from prestigious universities (or of prestigious parentage). This means that any mainstream journalism will favour the elite, with a inherent bias of promoting the status quo.

The problem with all of this is that the mainstream media are also often right on things. They have the resources to, and often do, put out excellent coverage. But folks, like yourself, have given up wholesale on mainstream media because of the bias you mention. This pushes more and more people to fringe media coverage, which is sometimes right, but certainly not elitist.

It sucks. I wish there were a go-to source of truth. It's exhausting to read a well known newspaper for their coverage on a topic that's interesting, but then to see their bias immediately rear up in the next article about the politically incorrect boogieman of the moment. It means you never get comfortable relying on media. The only person you can rely on is yourself, to think critically, consume multiple sources on a topic, and decide what the real story is.