It seems ridiculous to subscribe to, say, ten publications since you cannot realistically keep up with them all. However for me things changed when I started lo

It seems ridiculous to subscribe to, say, ten publications since you cannot realistically keep up with them all. However for me things changed when I started looking at this as a form of charity. I subscribe to a number of publications that I only read every now and then, but that I find important or sympathetic. A free and healthy press that stimulates debate is worth my money even if I am not part of the core audience. This is money that I would otherwise spend on other laudable things like disaster relief or coral reefs, i.e. altruistic money without any immediate personal ROI.