The new economics of media: If you want free content, there’s an almost infinite supply

Writer Nate Thayer set off the media equivalent of a fragmentation grenade, with a lament about the state of freelance writing that sent virtual shrapnel flying in all directions. The main target of his ire was The Atlantic, which he says asked him to rewrite one of his pieces and offered to pay him nothing — and this was seen by many as a symbol of the parlous state of online writing, not to mention the general decline of the media. Is that fair? Not really. But there’s no question the economics of content have changed.