Good thoughts. A few things:
1.) This would require a big media company like the HuffPo to purchase a lot of Steem Power. I don't think any big media publishers are willing to hold a legally ambiguous digital asset on their books anytime soon, though maybe a startup trying to disrupt would.
2.) A publisher that did this would still be subject to the whims of other whales (right now owns $66M,
owns $3.5M and
owns $2.7M worth of steem power). A large, premium publisher would probably rather fork their own blockchain than use a blockchain that gives up so much power to others (at least for now).
RE: How Media Companies Can Use Steem to Improve Their Content Contribution Models