I agree with some (not all) of what Matt Taibbi has to say about false balance in news coverage. Yeah, reporters are just reporting the kind of stuff a lot of the public wants to see but that can also become a self-fulfilling rationale. Yeah, they're covering what they're covering because that's what the public is reading…but maybe one reason the public is reading it is that that's what the media is giving them and spotlighting. And since when is it not the job of a reporter to cover what's important even if the public doesn't want to hear about it?
But read Taibbi anyway. He does make some good points even if I find much of his piece arguable.