You’re assuming that the relevant debates rest on different views of facts, when in reality they rest on different values. Specifically, journalists tend to have a very different view of fairness and justice when it comes to people who they perceive as non-white and whose religion is seen as adverse to Christianity than ordinary people do. Indeed, I think that if your average person knew as much about the Middle East as your typical journalist, the magnitude of the difference in opinion between journalists and average people would only increase.