Thus, when you’re tempted to share a Politico article, please look instead for an article from a different source.
(Also, if you’re wondering, know that Axel Springer, the mass media company, has nothing to do with Springer, the science publisher (the one with the chess knight logo; it’s named after Julius Springer; it deserves criticism of its own, but a different kind.)
Things did turn out quite badly.
There are several interrelated reasons: Lack of funding (in part due to a lack of an advertising subsidy, which is a good thing), lack of prominence, lack of readers recognizing the value of independent journalism.
The crucial thing is that with everyone who does recognize its value—and the harm that is caused by a corporate-dominated media landscape—and who therefor starts to make a conscious effort to read independent sources more often, to point others to them, and to support them financially (which I do, for the record), those issues improve in tandem.