The Post-Dispatch

So I got the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Tuesday, and I found a front page article that compares Pujols to Babe Ruth. This is not a surprise since, to modify Marx a bit, sports are the new "opiate of the masses." I initially chalked up the article to yet another example of St. Louisians holding baseball in too high of a priority and glorifying Pujols to SNL Ditka-like status (drunken Southsider to another drunken St. Louisian at Busch Stadium: Q: If Pujols and Jesus Christ arm-wrestled, who would win? A: Pujols--burp.).

But today's front page showed how limpid the Post has become. Above the fold is a story about John Goodman's return to New Orleans to commemorate Katrina, and below the fold is a wire story about how Survivor will now divide teams early on in the show along racial lines.

This is on the front page.

Now that's INFOTAINMENT!

Let's not focus on Iraq or or the November elections or Pentagon graft or put more important stories on the front page today [Medicare refunds, Iran, Illegal Border Crossings, the (lack of) security at chemical plants and water facilities, et al.], no, let's follow the herd--Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC--and churn out canned, witless reportage.

And I don't even want to get started on page 2 of the Post where they provide gossip about celebrities.

Daily papers around the country are trying to attract more readers.

If they want more readers, they are better served by doing some true investigative reporting rather than imitating People.

Bill McClellan, Sylvester Brown Jr., and Eric Mink are pretty solid columnists, but the paper of record in the St. Louis area needs to reach higher than the lowest common denominator.

More hard-hitting, investigative journalism attracts readers--not crap.