I would assume not everybody who is now in the click bait &quot;journalism&quot; and blog spam business could actually be a journalist. So if those would simply be starved off (which is a big if, bordering on utopia, I admit that), there would be a lot more eyeballs for those who remain; add to that figuring out micro-payments and getting rid of the bloated ad networks (if you must have ads, display a few curated ones for things you <i>actually</i> can endorse), and suddenly the situation is a lot less bleak.<p>If there was &quot;free food&quot; but after a while it was watered down so much and had so many additives that it just made you sick and left you hungry, why <i>wouldn&#x27;t</i> you go back to normal food? Yes, it&#x27;s infinitely more expensive than &quot;free&quot;, but getting sick from it and still being hungry also has all sorts of hidden costs. So, where&#x27;s the free market with people operating in their own interest, right?