Never Mind the Higher Ed Bubble

While we’re watching the early innings of the collapse of the higher education bubble (the ultimate blue state edifice), we’re overlooking that the Mainstream Media bubble is collapsing even faster.  First comes the news that Jim Walton, the head of CNN, is stepping down.  For some reason the Puffington Host calls this news “shocking” on its home page.  Quitting or getting sacked—how can it be “shocking” when the pioneer of cable TV news sees its top man out when it is getting “Wayne’s World”-level ratings?  Here’s an idea: hire Mark Steyn and/or Hugh Hewitt to do a daily one-hour show, and watch your ratings soar.  A network that had the wit to do some serious conservative news would peel off a lot of viewers from the unserious O’Reilly Factor.

Meanwhile, did you hear the news that Newsweek magazine is on its way to dumping the print edition altogether, and just becoming an online-only rag?  Yes, of course you didn’t read this in Newsweek, because no one reads Newsweek any more.  Will anyone notice that print Newsweek is gone?  (Will anyone read the online version, aside from Andrew Sullivan’s groupies?)  Here’s a simple test: when you reach the supermarket checkout stand, which publication do you pull of the rack in search of breaking stories—the National Enquirer or Newsweek?  Let’s see: which publication was it that chased down the John Edwards story?  Once upon a time Newsweek could be relied upon to break (sort of) the Monica Lewinski story, but only because Drudge goaded them into it.  Under Tina Brown—probably the most overrated journalist/editor of our time—Newsweek has become just a lightweight version of The New Republic.

Oh well, I suppose all those unemployed journalists from the legacy media can go to work teaching journalism at universities. Oh, wait. . .

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