I mean this article is about "What Happened To People Magazine?" and not "People Magazine Is Just As Great And Insightful As It Has Always Been". It seems a little silly to ask me to defend the merits of specific articles on the site now.

However, I will point out the strong irony in that appeal to authority you are doing there. Why is what Henry Buckle said any more important than the soon-to-be president like the article's example of the Gerald Ford cover story in People's 4th issue? I guess being born two centuries ago means he isn't a "celebrity" so we can trust him?