This oversimplifies the complex eco system that newspapers had. Content of a typical dozen page newspaper was headlines, minor news, infotainment, utility and ads. The minor news work by a journalist was heavily subsidized by other sections. In other words, a journalist sitting in city council meetings and doing reporting is unlikely to find revenue by himself to fund even meager life style. If newspapers were to completely fall apart, I would expect around 70% of journalists go extinct due to loss of ecosystem.
I agree. My point is that the bundling balanced the ROI equation in a way that unbundled things don't. Theoretically this isn't an issue if the market has some sense of value for the unbundled thing...think HBO which is a mid-flight experiment.
