Is the future of Newspapers to be subsidised playthings?

Just musing about the news on the BBC radio that a Russian ex KGB oligarch is potentially buying the Evening Standard. They said that it was "not to influence the editorial content" - but in the next breath they show how appalling the economics of Newspapers are - so its hardly an economically rational business investment (a web article on the subject is here).

No, clearly he is prepared to take losses on the newspaper in order to gain benefits elsewhere. And if you go to the earlier "Era of Barons" the ownership of newspapers by rich men to further their other interests (political, business, etc) was quite common.

And this made me realise that this may be one of the endgame business models for newspapers in this transition period - they could well be run at a loss, run with offset subsidies for benefit from a business (or other objectives elsewhere).

Which of course begs the question - where could major benefits be found. Sadly, the ones that immediately come to mind are negative:

- To champion a point of view that otherwise would not be espoused (though this could be +ve if a "benign benefactor" was involved - but they are unusual, though ironically Nr Lebedev is being portrayed more as a freedom fighting angel )

- To obfuscate or muddy waters to allow other agendas to pass unmolested

- Pure Ad-engines (like the freepapers sprouting all over)

Also known as PR engines, masquerading as honest to goodness news organs. It was far harder to think of positive benefits, the best being that newspapers become an additional (possible chargeable) distribution method for some multi-media service.