I understand your point and I am a big supporter of the free market, but I think consumers need a minimum protection against infomercials.
"Disclaimer: [$thisBlog] is an investor in [$company]"
...right underneath the story headline involving a company they were involved with. It would force "journalists" to at least pretend to be somewhat objective.
"Or, don’t buy a subscription and I will bash you relentlessly.” Most big companies paid up and considered it a cost of doing business."