And some of it at least was paid placement as well that was theoretically vendor-neutral and reviewed editorially but pretty superficially.

Analysts, consultants, and so forth have long been willing to write for trade pubs for the visibility and maybe a few bucks. But the conflicts of interest have always been a bit problematic if only in them choosing what topics not to dive into. I did a fairly long-time blog for another pub and over time they decided their blog network had gotten too uncomfortable for them.