If you're going to treat investigative reporting and news gathering as a profit making venture then you can only charge what the market is willing to pay, and for the vast majority of people, that's nothing.
Investigative reporting is in a tough spot in a capitalist democracy. In a democracy, good reporting is a vital part of the system, but in capitalism, people pay for what they want to see and hear, and that's not always the truth.
Advertisers directly or indirectly impacting the kind of news that gets reported doesn't help.