"but it's certainly not a requirement of a university."

I read the article as stating that entertainment value is, even in universities, becoming a requirement of research. That it is becoming very difficult to fund reasearch if it can't be 'sold' to a mass audience:

"I began my career with relatively unrestricted choices when it came to the subjects of my research; I expect to end it feeling that I should really only work on themes that that can be guaranteed to strike chords with the public or, more accurately and problematically, the media. In all honesty, I am not sure how I feel about this, and I’m treating this blog as an opportunity to think about it."

Harry