There’s a lot of pointless soul-searching by the humanities: anthropology, sociology, philosophy, etc. They’re wondering why normal humans no longer want to pay for the fine points of quasi-post-Rawlsian pseudo-Carnapism. The natural conclusion is that normal humans are illiterate non-self-aware numbskulls, so the humanities need to crank up our name-dropping and arrogance to a more punitive level. Show the numbskulls who’s smart!
If the humanities really wanted to reform, they’d just follow Pew. Pew is doing what sociologists USED to do. Methodically analyzing how people respond to current events, carefully isolating causation from correlation. As close as you can get to physics when measuring super-complicated wiggly things.
This survey asks one simple and important question. How many Americans have ever talked with a local journalist? If local journalism has its ear to the ground, the percent should be high.
Pew says the number depends on status. Among high-status people who are part of the power structure, about 30% have talked with local journalists. Among low-status people who aren’t in power circles, about 18%.
This matches my experience. In Enid, where I felt like a citizen and knew people of all types, I talked with local journalists twice. Since moving to Spokane in 1990 I’ve never felt connected or citizenish, and I’ve never seen a local journalist.
Polistra's Mill 