They’re also very small and therefore more easily bribed or crushed, whichever tactic is needed to get them in line

The fact they’re small means they’re more easily abandoned, though.

? In what world? Tech blogs seem to have the most obvious industry ties of most media

Of course they're obvious -- that's good. With larger players, you have no idea who they're being paid by (as shown, for instance, in the crux of this article). In contrast, with "new media" (e.g. a podcast), I can be reasonably confident they are only being paid by a few key sponsors, and that's public knowledge on account of them having purchased ad space.