TechCrunch seems to fit within everyone's definition of on-topic here.

Not mine. News for hackers ought to be more than just industry linkbait. It ought to be somewhat above trends and hype.

I'm curious to know why TechCrunch is not appreciated. Has it, in your opinion, become some sort of new "Startup Mainstream" that purveys a consensus that's become a bit separated from reality?

I find TechCrunch to be a good news source for its particular niche. But I don't always find news intellectually stimulating.

Because it tends to be a linkbait machine, and generally doesn't seem to be intellectually stimulating, newsworthy, well researched, or well written.

So it has the same problems as a lot of the news, then?