Pop Goes the Paper of Record

Ben, you're not the only one to have noticed the NYTimes' awkward attempts at pop culture relevance. In CJR, Michael Massing calls the gray lady's increasing forays outside its traditional territory of high art "off course." Massing accuses the paper of "eagerly chronicling every up-and-down tick in the great fame-and-ambition sweepstakes" while ignoring the deeper sociological questions of "what it all means."

I agree. Leave the celeb tracking to pros like Star magazine, Pink, and Chrisafer.