When Rick Stengel joined Time in 1981, every story in progress filled a thick binder -- the reporter's version, the editor's rewritten version, the top editors' version, the fact-checked version -- that would be unimaginable in today's cut-to-the-bone corporate culture.
Why is lower-quality print reporting considered "good news" instead of a bad symptom? Wouldn't it be good news if we saw that balanced print media were rising, not just that the entire industry is contracting?
I fear that we are facing a future of Americans get their news from sound bytes, The Daily Show, entertainment websites, and Saturday Night Live skits, rather than any in-depth source.
This might seem like a victory, but it's one only in a tactical sense. Not to be a downer, but the war is being lost and every American who loves his country should be out there doing something about it, IMO.
(As an example, even though I am facing layoff at my employment, I took some time to assist a teenager in learning how to research information better, and encouraged sharing of that learning to peers.)
I read Newsweek for almost 30 years until I realized something was very wrong with this supposed "news" magazine at the end of the Lewinsky scandal. They switched from decent investigative reporting to overtly shilling for Clinton. I now get more interesting and even diversity of opinion in National Review.
I agree with you to a point, yes I hate the low quality news reporting. I picked up a magazine during my last trip to my doctor, it was open to a business story. I read the article, then looked to see who had published it. I was surpised to see it was Business Week, I used to subscribe it, but quit shortly after I sold my business. It was a pale imitation of the magazine I used to read regularly, it was/is a copy of People style, nothing to long, no depth, just about people in the story, with no back story, no stats to back up their claims. Business Week used to be aimed at upper management and was expensive compared to other magazines. I asked my doctor, why he subscribed to it and he replied,that he didn’t, every magazine in his waiting room was sent to him free.
My point is they chose the business model, hoping to expand their readership. These magazine were once aimed at educated people, now they are aimed at People readers. I started Newsweek in high school, because it was required reading for my civics’ class and continued, until I could read it in five minutes. There was nothing in it to inform me on any subject, just a few paragraphs explaining one side of a story.