It's not just subscriptions, but the classifieds - which were considered 'rivers of gold'. The business model of the news industry was hollowed out by the internet.
In the paper news era, people were much more likely to read in-depth articles. Not necessarily because people were smarter or more intellectually curious, instead because...well, it was pretty much the only information available for the day.
You utilize the information because you consider it valuable based on it being scarce.
Needless to say, we have the opposite problem now. There's an information overdose and we're extremely selective in what we chose to read. And quite obviously, snack-size wins.
Most people now would find it a massive commitment to spend an hour to read and process a detailed article. The few that do, likely check their phone 10 times during this enormous investment of their time.
It's not just subscriptions, but the classifieds - which were considered 'rivers of gold'. The business model of the news industry was hollowed out by the internet.
https://theconversation.com/as-the-rivers-of-gold-dry-up-wha...