Advertising was the primary business model for newsprint (also cable news, etc). When the internet came along, the news organisations continued this model. It w

Advertising was the primary business model for newsprint (also cable news, etc). When the internet came along, the news organisations continued this model. It worked at first, but then (as TFA says) the duopoloy has effectively strangled the advertising model. And some organisations (looking at you Buzzfeed) gamed the system to produce clickbait. Advertising isn't intrinsic to journalism. You can happily employ journalists and publish stories without advertising, provided someone provides the money.