I want to know the answer to the following question:
What remained popular in diplomatic, trade and journalistic circles?
All the background I'm provided with is that ""Near East" remained popular in diplomatic, trade and journalistic circles, but a variation soon developed among the scholars and the men of the cloth and their associates: "the Nearer East," reverting to the classical and then more scholarly distinction of "nearer" and "farther.". Is that enough to answer the question?
Answer: yes