This is just a general impression, but it seems over the past 10 year so political commentary in the print mass media is just getting dumber and dumber. I used to read Newsweek, Time, and major daily newspapers for the quality of the articles and analysis, but I really don’t seem to be getting much insight these days when reading the online version articles of these magazines and newspapers, and a lot of the opinions and analysis don’t seem very insightful. In fact they seem to be gradually be getting dumbed down somewhat. Fewer big words, more pictures, less policy discussion and more focus on personalities. The overall impression is one of more opinion and less analysis.
Am I just getting old and more cynical/cranky or has print mass media coverage of politics really changed?
Makes time & newsweek look like tabloids with 50% sports content and busty girl of the day swimsuit pics, which is a lot easier these days than it used to be.
Good analysis of US poiltics, as well as social trends, not to mention the rest of the world.
In light of recent observations by both posters to this thread, and by pundits who decry the shrinking intellectual pool of the western world, a question does indeed arise. To wit; Does the media encourage the use of buzzwords and sound bites in such a manner that those whose knowledge and opinions we seek are forced to de-intellectualize their observations? To this, only one answer will suffice -