Being knowledgeable is a good thing - it expands your mind and reading newspapers just help you get some perspective/cultural knowledge.
However - what intellectualism appears to be in this day and age is almost elitism in the way the texts are written (newspapers not so much, but academic texts for sure). They are written in such a fashion they repel a majority of the population, and with good reason because these texts take about three pages to say what could have been condensed to one paragraph. They use words most people will have to use a dictionary to understand and, even while the topics they cover can interest many people, they're too 'elite' to be fully comprehended.
Basically, to cover this the education system needs to be changed.
General anti-intellectualism, however, I think is born out of societal issues - such as being punished with extra homework in school, or forced to read certain books. It's rebellion against authority in that respect, but also an aversion to what people are now seeing as 'punishment'. The media also plays a part, stereotyping intellectuals in a negative fashion.
To be honest, I don't really care what people read or don't read, but I'd hope that people who will grow up to run countries will have more knowledge than average (especially on cultural and societal differences and workings).