I'm similar. I never made a conscious decision, or said to myself "right, I'm never reading TechCrunch again," it was just something that sort of happened.
I gradually unsubscribed feeds in Google Reader that were generating too much uninteresting stuff, I stopped visiting sites, I got busy doing things of my own.. and before I knew it, I was tech-blog-free.
It's not like I know any less about what's going on in the world of tech without them; I just get a lot less clutter in my life.
Same here. I stopped following Siegler, Arrington, Sarah Lacy & co cause their arrogance and writing was just unbearable. They call themselves journalists/bloggers, but all they want is something in exchange for you appearing on their site/feed. That is not journalism.
These guys stopped writing about tech a long time ago, and instead started writing about their close (relational/economic) interests.
TechCrunch and related acts are just /tech tabloids/ now. Media literacy in the USA has been on a steep decline in the past 50 years, as evidenced by how these people still make and break startups. See also: things like Fox News blaming Obama for high oil prices instead of speculation in oil futures.
The fact that the tech industry has given them the power to "make or break" startups is insane. These people are horrible writers, and the fact that anyone gives them the time of day is insane. Posts from TC, Pando, and the like, AND posts about them, shouldn't be allowed on HN.
