Inside the tabloid press

I enjoyed this Atlantic profile of one of the middlemen who facilitates the tabloid press.

I am not quite sure how I feel about all the hand-wringing in the article about paid sources. It strikes me that there is a big difference between paying for documentary evidence versus simply paying for unverified (or even unverifiable) statements by interested parties. I am not worried about the former but am worried about the latter. Of course, hiding the latter behind the former, or providing payment in kind rather than in cash, as it appears that some more "reputable" media outlets do, does not really make things better.