Straight on the case is the Guardian's Kevin Anderson who says that
referring to the media economics of the 18th century to build or justify a strategy for the 21st is clearly ludicrous. Paper in the 18th century was an expensive thing and steam presses hadn’t been invented. Information was scarce and could fetch a premium.
Kevin adds that
In the age of the internet, information is not scarce. Opinion isn’t scarce. People’s attention is scarce.
