Saying that Medium needs to hire writers misses the point entirely. Medium is a platform--not a publisher or a content studio. SV doesn't like the "studio" business model because it doesn't scale: there is no such thing as a 100x writer, 100x animator, or 100x video editor. If you want more output, you have to hire more people.

(I used to run a post production boutique and learned this the hard way.)

Ev Williams' previous startups (Blogger, Twitter) along with other networks like FB all rely on users producing endless streams of content FOR FREE. This seems to be working when the "content" is 140-char witticisms, cat videos, or various forms of lifestyle/status/virtue signaling. The "content producers" seem to think that the tradeoff is worth it.

The math is very different when it comes to producing thoughtful, long-form, polished content. Ev Williams hoped that he could provide writers with enough incentive to do that sort of difficult work on the Medium platform.

But even assuming that there are enough writers willing produce high-end content gratis, it is still unclear what incentives Medium is offering in exchange for moving your operations into their walled garden. A better <TEXTAREA>, plus some hand-waving about the future, isn't cutting it.