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more indicative of their relationship to power (largely subservient)What are you basing this on? From the people I know in federal and state government, this is totally backwards.
> than anything to do with the accuracy of their reporting or integrity
Sure, whatever. The point is is there signal in the noise. And for those publications, there is. In part because they create the signal.
That said, they’re written for decision makers and the civically and commercially engaged. For casual readers, a less-frequent and more-entertaining format is probably a better fit.