[riffraff]

This is partially the case in Italy, though it changed over the years.

The assignment of funds is based on refunding prints/sales, so money goes to help newspapers that do print "something" of interest to the public.

The problem is that people don't want "independent" journalism, they want "my ideas" journalism.

Which.. still good somehow? Italy had plenty of newspapers which were the literal extension of political parties and a few independent ones in the past and still does.

But these days, they are all dying anyway.