There's no doubt the proliferation of credit card referrals has affected the content, but they still provide valuable information, albeit with a lot more "noise" now.
I just suggested a (non-referral) addendum to a recent post from TPG, and he updated it very quickly. But I follow him and Mommy Points, and they alerted me to the Citi Premier card. That card's thread on FT gets buried pretty quick. So when I apply, I might as well use one of their links.