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What people actually pay for (content or distribution) is largely irrelevant (IMO). The news business was only about connecting advertisers with an audience. As soon as advertisers found a better (and more measurable) way to connect with their target audience, they simply moved on.

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Absolutely correct. Drilling it down to the logical nth degree you are effectively paying to be part of a defined marketing demographic that can then be sold to advertisers. The reality of course is there is a more symbiotic relationship going on as if people did not percieve value then the circulation would drop off.

Glossy magazines like Wallpaper are the most stark example of this where it's often a case of flicking through 4 pages of watches before getting to the next article about italian leather day bags, but news media run on the same model.

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