This is the central thesis of Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday. The internet ruined media by changing the revenue model to a per-article rather than per-subs

This is the central thesis of Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday. The internet ruined media by changing the revenue model to a per-article rather than per-subscription basis. He made this claim in 2012, long before most people recognized how dangerous the changing media ecosystem was going to be. Great book, if you're looking to understand how media in the internet age became such a disaster I recommend it highly.