Misplaced nostalgia for newspapers

This week my wife and I were staying at a Virginia bed-and-breakfast that put next to our plates each morning The Washington Post. How quaint! And so for a few days I left behind my computer news surfing and returned to a purportedly greater era of the press, when newspapers were fat with advertising and staffs were growing rather than slimming.

Yes, it was reassuring, like a warm bath, to turn the broadsheet pages and see once again the political philosophy of the Style section. Adulatory reviews of a movie celebrating an evolutionist, and of a play treating a Jewish family with “unfiltered vehemence.” A sympathetic portrayal of a prominent D.C. rabbi who has declared himself gay and is divorcing his wife of 20 years. Etc., etc.

The political coverage, as in every decade since the 1930s, was from the Democratic standpoint. An article on searching for the political silver lining in 2014 concluded that narrow, late-vote-counting wins by incumbent Democratic representatives make “their track record look a lot better than it did on election night. … Democrats were facing losses potentially bigger than they had already braced themselves for. When that didn’t happen, they were entitled to at least stop holding their breath in fear, even if they weren’t allowed a victory dance.”

The social issues coverage, as in every decade since the 1960s, was from a liberal perspective. One headline, “Same-sex couples urge uniformity on laws,” should have read, “Same-sex couples urge nationwide acceptance,” because until recent years the United States did have uniformity: Marriage had to be between a man and a woman. The editorial and op-ed page seemed the same as always. For example, E.J. Dionne Jr. was fulminating about conservative justices wanting to “make mincemeat of the greatest achievement of a progressive president elected by a clear majority.”

Leaving aside the questions about Obamacare’s passage via political bribery and parliamentary maneuvering, I looked in vain for concern about the Supreme Court making mincemeat of the Constitution. But the good news is that The Washington Post doesn’t have a monopoly on the news. Did we really live once in dependence on a daily newspaper? After a week of paper, I’m glad to go back to the internet, where we can enjoy a diversity of views.