[lbo-talk] Circulation Plunges at Major US Newspapers

joanna 123hop at comcast.net
Tue Oct 31 09:29:54 PST 2006


Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:


>Joanna:
>
>
>Politically, it's not necessarily bad cause, at least around here, all
>the local free papers are way to the left of the major dailies.
>
>
>[WS:] It's bad, Joanna, pretty bad, because it signifies further dumbing
>down of the US society. The trend is only among more respectable
>newspapers, while tabloids are on the rise. I do not know about you, but
>I'd rather have a serious, respectable newspaper expressing views that I
>find disagreeable than a "politically correct" tabloid. Tabloids (and
>pictorial media in general) tend to appeal mainly to ignorant and indolent
>people who are easily manipulated by sensationalism and demagoguery.
>
No, Woj. Most people don't read the NYT or the Washington Post or the LA Times. They just don't I'm not sure I understand about "tabloids" -- in the bay area, the free weekly papers do 99% of all the muckraking journalism there is to be had in any paper -- and the approach is more scholarly than sensationalistic. But, of course, that's the Bay area. I'm willing to admit I live in a bubble.


>It looks like this society is heading toward a medieval model with a few
>highly educated and literate monks or Brahmins and illiterate masses whose
>main if not only means of written communication is pictures.
>
No question about that, but I'm not so sure that newspapers are as helpful as you make them out to be.

Joanna


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