Good luck looking for data and ignoring news when you country and worse, the region where you live is being invaded by the neighbor and you need to make an informed decision to stay or to leave.
Similarly, at a state level, you know they are the same. They have data feeds that are not released to the public.
Which brings us back to my point, what is there of value in the news for most people? I can think of very little personal value there.
Now, I can see great political and public value in making sure you have an informed population. Such that I am not claiming there is no value in it. Hard to show a direct bottom line value to individuals, though. And we are discussing why individuals won't pay.