If you have cable television, chances are you’re well aware of your choices of news coverage – everything from the ultra conservative Fox News to its adversary, MSNBC, and everything in between.

Sure it’s nice to have those opposing viewpoints available, but I’m a bit bothered by the competing 24-hour cable news cycle. I always hear how our country has changed drastically over the years – that it’s split more now than ever. But I’ll bet the family farm that this constant bombardment of diverging 24-hour news coverage (at least, what the general public refers to as “news”) is partly to blame for our polarization.

Changing times and technology have refined the way we get information; that’s a simple enough theory. We get it faster and easier than ever before. If a plane crashes in Europe, I know within seconds of it happening. Likewise, Europe can keep up to the minute tabs on baby names picked out by Kim and Kanye (the most pressing issue of our day).

But with this quick spread of information, I can’t think of a 24-hour news network that’s not guilty of jumping the gun when it comes to coverage. Speed trumps accuracy and reliability in the cable news realm, which we all saw the consequences of in the Newtown tragedy.