I think you have hit the nail on the head yet again. I don't think the essay is dead at all. We live in a world of 90 second news updates and blandly compiled material designed to suit a global audience. As an English speaker in Switzerland I have to put up with CNN around the clock as it is one of the few English speaking channels. I am now really beginning to loathe CNN with a passion.
Global stuff is boring but then local stuff can become boring for different reasons.
When we each know what the other is about to say - there's no point in saying anything. A good essay goes way beyond the often superficial nature of point scoring. I hope they continue. I think you have created a unique forum which is really developing in a fascinating way. It is easy for many of us to become jaded.