I say that as a longtime fan of Vox and Vox Media, which I think is the best of the big VC-backed digital media companies.

But it is still jarring to see it hit this disaster-telethon tone, asking for "gifts" from readers.

Even alt-weeklies — in rougher shape than pretty much everyone in media — are mostly using the language of "membership" or something else that puts forward a two-way exchange of value.

I suspect one of the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on the news business is the blurring of that line between the messaging of public media/nonprofits and for-profits.