[benlumen]

There might never have been some noble objective, but there were at least the business incentives to appeal to a broader audience because of the centralized distribution methods, no? I think Matt Taibbi wrote about this. Market forces then and now.

[watwut]

I mean, as much as Matt Taibbi articles are fun to read, he never came across to me as objective nor trying to be objective. A lot of what he writes is all about showing his viewpoint and appealing to people with similar viewpoint.