It's a foolish strategy for mass media but makes sense for topic focused publications that usually are not mainstream or elite publication that try to exclude.

It's a foolish strategy for mass media but makes sense for topic focused publications that usually are not mainstream or elite publication that try to exclude. You were always the product. Newspapers, magazines, year books, church bulletins have ads directed at you or a group you are part of. Certain people buy a publication for the ads. Free isn't the problem. Taking free away means less people read their paper, less talk about it, less get invited on cnn, less word of mouth. The need to move to clickbait titles increases. Remember these media sites do not create the news but present it in a digestable format and provide commentary.