I actually think the rise of "free" news is a big problem; like there has always been the crazy free daily that you could get if you went down to your local city, but it was local and of limited distribution, 'cause printing costs money.
The marginal cost of printing has gone to nearly zero, while the cost of writing good content has, if anything, gone up.
Now, I, too, want a more reasonable way to pay to read news. I mean, it's damn inconvenient to just buy that one story. But I have subscribed to a few papers on my kindle and try to get more of my news from those than from "free" sources on the internet.
The marginal cost of printing has gone to nearly zero, while the cost of writing good content has, if anything, gone up.
Now, I, too, want a more reasonable way to pay to read news. I mean, it's damn inconvenient to just buy that one story. But I have subscribed to a few papers on my kindle and try to get more of my news from those than from "free" sources on the internet.