Independent news sources provide investigations critical to the state, which state run media do not. It's like GNU/Linux or Android to Windows or iOS. They provide excellent value as well as competitive advantages.
SnapChat vs Whatsapp? well.....
SnapChat vs Whatsapp? well.....
So are you basically just lumping "SnapChat and Whatsapp" into "all of these web startups". That seems terribly myopic don't you think?