We are being made monkeys of by the hedge funds and private equity firms which have scooped up most of our largest newspapers and turned these formidable weapons of mass propaganda on us. The vulture capitalists are laughing all the way to the bank while we shower them with bailout money and blame Big Tech for not sitting still to be similarly fleeced.
Operating costs.
If you’re trying to run an honest-to-goodness news outlet, you need to be able to afford reporters, editors, printers, web hosting, etc.
If you’re just running a propaganda rag in an attempt to astroturf political issues, then it doesn’t need to make its operating costs back. You’re paying to ensure politicians friendly to your other businesses are in power.