Lets take the argument one step further. You could take the room full of software engineers and automate most writing. Business, sports, not a problem. So the question is, how many journalists work as actual journalists in their field and which are easily replaceable by AI or unskilled humans. Here i think the initial comparison comes back. You could also get the room of software engineers to get a newspaper running. Full of clickbait, chum and all the other psychological tricks to get people hooked over shit content. Producing such content is an organization task like any else. Its not quality content but it doesnt have to be, you only need clicks. You wouldnt have journalists, but how many do we currently have who also work as such in "functioning news organizations"? Unless payed by a benefactor with deep war chest, very few journalists get to do any real journalism, simply because its not a profitable venture to pay all the research that didnt turn into big stories. The few that do have been on their deathbed for a while.

So on that level, sure, journalism isnt a profitable career option. The stuff that you do get paid for likely can also be done be anyone else who can handle the advertisement financed industry. Its the basic crux of the problem, journalism isnt profitable. Trying to solve that problem by trusting the market will leave us without professional journalism.