[qjz]

Isn't that a false dichotomy? You left out completely free content, which is still abundant and could hold your attention each and every day. It seems most ad-driven sites are fueled by screen scraping or opining on external content without adding much value.

[TylerE]

Not really. Decent writers cost money. Editors cost money. Fact checkers cost money. Are there people who will write about their hobby for free, and produce good quality content? Sure.

At the same time, many things require feet (and equipment) on the ground, on location, and that, again, costs money.

[narag]

Poisoned candy, though still candid:

Yours is an interesting quality comment that I can read for free in a site without advertisement. The same goes for the rest of my news readings online. The links lead me to other pages that Privoxy makes bearable.

I read (paid) books, soon eBooks, for anything but news. I guess the question is what kind of content people consume.