It is driven by numbers of eyeballs and therefore achieving the lowest common denominator of attention becomes the highest priority of the editor or the writer. In the numbers game, an uneducated “dolt” counts as much as a PhD internet click-on.

The interactive Internet compounds the problem where people are not self-segregated by having to pay more or less for the information they get. Consequently, editors instead of arbiters become ring-masters where the usual journalistic skills are a second or tenth concern.

Intelligence, wit, sagacity are accepted if they don’t drive readers away or as H.L. Mencken said (roughly) “nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American consumer.”

You are in “show biz.”

Interestingly, in the 10 years I’ve been in the automotive media field (in one form or another) I’ve seen the general quality of “editors” decline in terms of the qualifications required for the job. It used to be a j-school degree was the minimum standard, but I know several editors that don’t even have a bachelor’s degree of any sort!

Conversely, on the digital side, it seems sometimes there’s a disconnect between the qualifications and talent, and the work description. Not to toot my own horn, but I hold a bachelor’s in journalism as well as a master’s in communication, yet the bulk of my workday consists of re-posting articles written by someone else from the print magazine, sharing a cubicle with two co-workers, roughly 10 years my juniors. Welcome to the world of new media!

If I may stick up for Mr. Mitani for a moment, I’ve dealt with enough hotheads and blowhards in forums and other online communities, that I often look forward to turning my computer off at the end of the day, and not having to deal with these sophomoric rabble-rousers until the next day. It may not be fair to lump all “enthusiasts” into the same category, but sometimes it’s guilt by association.