The article makes a bit of an error. Publishers do provide a service. They organise peer review, in which papers are criticised anonymously by experts (though those experts, like the authors of papers, are rarely paid for what they do).
It's actually the minimally paid editors who do this. All the journal does is provide a crappy web app to organize the process.
It's actually the minimally paid editors who do this. All the journal does is provide a crappy web app to organize the process.