As for the business reasons for the change in emphasis, I doubt that there are any. I think this is all about Lacey's self-image, his compensating for his intellectual insecurity by imposing a big blustery capital J "We go out and get the stories" journalism bullshit on everything. That's based on how he comes across in the few interviews I've seen. I could be wrong. But if Westword is any indication, the man actually has no interest in getting the poop on how "the deal went down," despite what he says. Westword's office is six blocks from both the Colorado state capitol and the Denver city hall and has rarely covered either (I was going to say "never," but I really don't read the thing enough anymore to say this for sure). So there's been little attempt to probe into how power and authority actually work anywhere, though Michael Roberts has reported on Clear Channel's attempts to bully their way into dominance of the local concert scene. Basically, Westword is lifestyle, consumer guides, and human-interest stories, none of which I have any objection to in principle and none of which preclude actual ideas, if only the writers had any; the artist profiles end up as puff pieces, mostly.
kogan on poptimists.