CNN’s Ryan Girdusky fiasco is part of a much bigger problem in mainstream media

Because the Regan-era FCC wreaked havoc on perception vs. reality by giving a megaphone to people who wear tinfoil hats and threaten civilization. Nowadays, if you don't platform the extremists, then you are the extremist and are trying to influence everyone with your bias.

Conservatives "leveled the playing field" decades ago by shortening the other team's half of the pitch and increasing the size of their goal. If you ever point it out, they scream and cry and have their fans rush the field to beat up the players and move their own goal even further back.

Let the viewers see what different but less extreme viewpoints look like.

That goes against the entire point of corporate-owned news outlets. They exist to shape the opinions of their viewers in ways that benefit them, not encourage diversity of thought.

That would be news. We're talking about CNN here.

But it's a good idea!

Here’s an idea: why not just ignore the extremes, and to make a “fair and balanced” panel, put the Democrats in as the moderate conservatives and the socialists, greens AND libertarians in as the balancing agents?

This is a great idea. Except an unpleasantly large number of angry Republicans would argue that this is treason, and would literally threaten violence.

Because the average person isn't watching the news. They aren't buying newspapers.

And of the two ends of the spectrum? Leftists are very much in the 90s Talk Radio stage of things where "Wow, this person has some great ideas and I am glad I can hear such a left leaning viewpoint. OOH!! This person is best friends with putin and is going to explain to me why the US are really the villains in every war on earth" just with Twitch instead of AM radio.

So if a "mainstream news media" outlet wants to survive? They have to at least avoid alienating those right wing fascists.