That's because the publishers are dependent on Google, because they have no discoverability of their own. It's a systemic problem but it's not Google's problem

That's because the publishers are dependent on Google, because they have no discoverability of their own. It's a systemic problem but it's not Google's problem that they are the only discovery platform for most media outlets. Those brands don't have the inherent value or reputation they think they do, or it wouldn't matter where they were on google results.