If you stop calling mainstream publications "journalism," and instead view all publications as engagement farming, and think of WSJ, NYT, etc. as influencers, it all makes sense. It's not about stories, it's about clicks. This will never change with the ad profit incentive as is.

The second a new CEO comes in and says "I want us to make half the money but actually tell real stories that matter," they're going to be booted out on their ass in under a minute. There's no going back to the old days because people aren't doing things for "honor/integrity." We killed that. We replaced "God," (meaning doing something in service of a greater good) with profit. The result is, this.