That article (and a couple of articles/blogs it references) tries to coherently explain why TV changed like it did during that period. The better explanation is probably that network programming--probably even more so than other aspects of culture--was very much a fashion business. It may also reflect the personal preferences of a handful of network execs. Furthermore, the 70s were definitely not a back to the city period so its hard to use that as an explanation.

There's always the pachinko effect of network executive tastes, it's not unlike the music business, but I think that the article is trying to find patterns in clouds.

To refresh my memory, I just looked at a bunch of years of network programming. The 'rural' comedies don't seem to make that much of a footprint. If anything, a person could probably build a more convincing, invented-from-whole-cloth, essay about the birth and death of Western TV shows.

Or private detective--outside of British imports of course. Medical dramas. Etc.

I think I probably agree with you though that Westerns (both on TV and film) are probably the almost stereotypically American genre that used to be hugely popular and is largely non-existent today.

But I'm not sure I'd assign any great significance to the fact other than shifting tastes and, perhaps, sensitivities.