News web site can return part of the page (e.g. news article) to decrease TTFB, and then load less important content (e.g. news recommendation) after.

As author said, it is tradeoff.

...? "Most of the world is fine with whale oil lamps, who needs electricity"

Try a really good interactive article from the New York Times. You'll have a much more impactful experience than if you read a blurb about the same thing on your RSS reader.

That's why I think these conversations are so meaningless. My job would be a nightmare if I didn't use SPAs. It's all about the right tool for the job.