Mark McLaughlin, a top media strategist, penned a lengthy dissertation for Huffington Post this week on the whole argument about paid content on the Web. He notes that, historically, news consumers have not paid for content, but for distribution.

He argues that that is the approach to take as the Internet grows and old-fashioned print disappears:

We need solutions that improve the relevance of content for individual consumers without expecting individual consumers to be able to predict exactly what they want. The Internet has exploded the supply of content but digital technologies have only just begun to filter and sample that content for the consumer in an effective manner.

Content providers who used to enjoy control over the method of distribution are feeling a lot of pain but their content remains vital and appealing to consumers. Rather than stomping our foot ... it is better to focus on new solutions that tie content and distribution together in ways that create great consumer experiences.

See it all HERE.

The recent growth of mobile news distribution and versions for Kindle and the like, most of it on a paying basis, proves the distribution is the answer.