Does it? It feels like current news would be a poor method for tracking multi-year cultural changes.

Yes I think so. Current news gives you a sense of what mainstream culture considers important this year, then you compare it with what you observed in previous years. It's common for there to be a common cultural trend or debate that is hammered non-stop in mainstream media, you won't have to breathlessly follow news (ie. you just don't have to quit the news entirely, casual check-ins are fine) because it'll be breathlessly reported. That's what you watch for and you watch the conversation change from year to year.

More importantly, news gives you a mainstream perspective beyond typically dry work conversation or your highly selective filter bubble of personal relationships. What's acceptable to say amongst friends is not necessarily the same as what's acceptable in the mainstream.

You don't want to be the CEO who lost his job in the span of a couple of days because he didn't realize that anti-abortion stances are no longer publicly acceptable in the creative mainstream [1]. Poor guy probably had friends and family who didn't have any problems with his views.

[1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/09/gaming-ceo-ousted-aft...

That example is something of a red herring. If you're a CEO, or someone in a high visibility corporate role, don't talk about political hot-button issues in a public forum.

You have the right to do so, but you also have the possibility of being nailed to the cross (apt metaphor, in this case) for doing so.

So taking the risk is stupid from a personal perspective.

CEOs do so all the time for mainstream acceptable issues like LGBT rights. While it's certainly a valid strategy to shut up about anything political, it can be beneficial or even expected for political commentary depending on the industry and company.