Because the whole Oliver piece was a pitch-perfect ode to how important newspapers are to their communities, and how troubling it is that they are fading. After crumpling up Oliver’s love letter and sneering at its author, he had a suggestion for his next installment. John Oliver’s 19-minute riff about what’s become of local newspapers made me laugh. (For the record, he did say, in passing, that he liked parts of the Oliver piece, but that was very much not the point of his response.) In short, Oliver’s piece — widely read and talked about on Monday, not only in media circles but among lots of nonjournalists who value good journalism — was pretty much a love letter to newspapers.

Source: Washington Post August 08, 2016 21:34 UTC