I rather like EEVBlog's criticism of tech journalism. It seems 'journalists' are actually just curators, looking for content that generates clicks. We're tryin

I rather like EEVBlog's criticism of tech journalism. It seems 'journalists' are actually just curators, looking for content that generates clicks. We're trying to feed the ad machine to make a little revenue. What would a successful model look like? There are a few revenue models that are at least interesting: Hackaday was purchased by SupplyFrame, doesn't run ads, has an internal store, and has decent articles (with sometimes rage-inducing flaws). The bias is obvious, they are owned by a parent company that now uses the platform to advertise on. The Guardian is shifting towards an ad-less, pay what you want revenue model. Patreon isn't really a model that an organization can use... Or can it? All major players in the social media and news market tend to lean on ad-centered models. Do examples of successful social/media companies exist that don't depend on ad revenue?