This is a huge point that I think is often overlooked. Not only is it cheaper to write and distribute content to the entire world, it's also cheaper and easier

This is a huge point that I think is often overlooked. Not only is it cheaper to write and distribute content to the entire world, it's also cheaper and easier to curate all that content and offer a page full of links to it. Newspapers/reporters also served that function as well - going through all the news of the day to find the most interesting and relevant things to report on.