There are several examples of successful independent journalism ventures.

The point the story is making is the situation for journalists striking out on their own is that work ends up being way more on the back end, such that the reporting itself is a fraction of the time as cultivating the site and keeping subscribers happy with your interaction level, lest they bolt.

What legacy media provided was a premade audience, legal cover and no pay reduction with each lost subscriber. Slim offerings, to be sure, but we’re really learning as we go that as shitty as working conditions were, you could be doing all of that and having to moonlight in marketing.