Why can't the news media just report the facts and leave out all the biased commentary? Was there ever a time when the news media did that?

Before 24 hour cable networks.
They all had to do something to fill the time.

No. Look at old news articles from the 19th century and you'll see opinion and judgments regularly injected into the news. Humans have opinions and it's natural they're going to be revealed in what they write, even if it's subconscious.

Everything is either too left or too right.I'd just like something that goes right down the middle.

The tabloids contain more non-fiction than mainstream media at this point... 🤔

You'll have to watch CNN 10 (formally CNN kids) for that

I think they did before the 80's.

I don’t know if they ever weren’t slanted one way or the other. I know it’s been in jokes even in cartoons I watched as a kid that the media twisted, lied & hid things they didn’t want to report. It would definitely be more useful to literally just report what is happening good/ bad from everyone in the public eye that matters or carries power etc it’s exhausting to have to dig through & find pieces that are accurate from each place to get the proper picture. But unless people investigate through most of it themselves than it’s simple to get manipulated & not know it. It’s definitely happened to me before.