I have seen the TC authors and the subjects they are writing about directly interacting with readers in the comments. I haven't seen as much of the engaged community conversations that I see on HN, I think TC readers would miss out on a lot if they just removed them.
But I would say that I tend to go to TechCrunch to read the articles, but HackerNews (or Reddit) to see the community reaction.
But I would say that I tend to go to TechCrunch to read the articles, but HackerNews (or Reddit) to see the community reaction.