[orev]

Well, it really was better, for this reason: because you had limited options and limited control, you had to sit/listen/watch/read through segments and articles that you didn’t necessarily agree with, forcing you to be exposed to other ideas. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but there just simply was not an echo chamber like what exists today. Like any healthy diet, your news needs to include things you might not necessarily like, but you could wash them down with the other frivolous bits. Today you can just binge on candy all the time and like any kind of addict, people get really upset when you try to take it away.

Further, there was a pretty big stigma associated with buying tabloids, but today you can indulge without anyone having any idea what you’re looking at.