As a journalist, and one who lectures a course on journalistic ethics, all I can say is that if you set out to do a series on a "divided America" you will absolutely find a divided America.
If AP had produced a series on "Is America Divided?" we could expect a balanced piece, one which documented where there was division and where there isn't, that last word being crucial to balance. I have written extensively on what divides America, but this focuses on ONE issue, that of the relationship between terrorism and Islam. That, I suggest, is divisive in itself. Note: as I write this I am listening to a CBC special on how Syrian refugees are fitting in to Canadian society.
The chasm in America runs much deeper; it stems from the illusion of electoral choice and the most vile and cynical politicians whose work is to keep America divided and therefore unlikely to look too close to where the money goes. The real divide, though, is between them and us, them being the politicians who always seem to end up wealthy and they're backers who always seem to get richer. What should have awakened America to this divide was the simple fact during the draft and the Vietnam war, no politicians son were ever drafted. There's them, and us, and in the case of the US, the us comes in two varieties.