I would be prepared to pay per article. I am not eager to subscribe to any particular newspaper. I want to consume media "a la carte", not "all inclusive".
Unfortunately, newspapers wants me to susbcribe and here we are.
I think this would lead to papers writing articles that people would actually read, which sounds pretty great. Until you realize that that mentality is the whole reason Buzzfeed exists, and why the media pushes negative news so hard. That is what sells.
I use Blendle for this very reason. I read from a variety of sources and don't want to pay subscriptions to all of them, since I don't read all of each paper and wouldn't get my money's worth. Happy to a few dollars for a good handful of articles, but not north of $100-$200 when I only really read one section or selected articles.
Interesting but the wrong model for me. I'm looking for a Spotify/Netflix type solution. All the news in one place with annual payment for all I care to consume. Otherwise I have to think about each article and act to keep the costs in line.
Maybe this is a problem ready for a YC solution?