Efforts to find common ground require the full expression of opposing viewpoints. Perhaps the most familiar expression of opposing viewpoints comes from television talk shows like Washington Week, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The View, which explicitly present opposing views as context for a wide-ranging discussion of current issues. Online, sites such as Bloggingheads.tv and Opposing Views offer commentary from experts with opposing perspectives on current issues.

While these media projects vary in their commitment to a “fair and unbiased” presentation, most of them do exhibit the other basic features common to searches for common ground: an introduction to the issue that highlights points of similarity and difference, a presentation of the views by the people who hold them, and a structure (of the show or site and the host’s commentary) that provides a perceptible, if not always logical, oganization.

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Source: Will Wilkinson and Jonathan Haidt, bloggingheads.tv Courtesy of Bloggingheads.tv