snobs

As I said earlier, the Fourth Estate is too big a responsibility to entrust entirely to the New York Times. More than that, though, I don't think they deserve it. Too often the so-called paper of record in this nation comes off as out of touch. Yet, incredibly, they're snobs about it.

Case in point: Their response to Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

First they barely even mentioned Colbert's newsmaking speech in their initial report on the event, choosing instead to report on the Bush impersonator, which no one else in the country seemed to care about. Then they come in four days later -- typical tardiness for the Time's response to cultural phenomena -- with this droll backhanded slap of the whole thing.

Are these Manhattanites really the people we want to give sole authority to define reality in our nation? Don't you think we ought to have at least a few well-paid and capable reporters stationed in places like Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Charlotte, North Carolina? Wouldn't that give us a little less elitist view of our world?

All the more reason why Knight Ridder must make their websites understandable.