The economic frame is entirely the wrong one for this. Economics is primarily about behaviour modification and "free" is one popular strategy for changing belie

The economic frame is entirely the wrong one for this. Economics is primarily about behaviour modification and "free" is one popular strategy for changing beliefs and behaviours. There are truly altruistic examples of "free", but they're much rarer than people think. With "free" news the cost is attention and a risk of having beliefs and behaviours influenced. Some people think that's a price worth paying. But this influence is covert, uncosted, and may even be presented in deliberately deceptive ways. So it's not seen for what it is. If the exchange value was spelled out there would be far fewer takers.