Here is Ben Franklin addressing this issue back in 1731 by essentially saying, "that's true, but then how would news ever get printed?"
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-00...
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-00...
On that matter, people used to print newspaper for a variety of different reasons, some were to rally public to an opinion (political parties for instance), some were printed to exerce control over their reader (a factory owner making a newspaper for his employee) and there have always been people who wanted to report facts and get paid for that.
Still today, there are many newspaper and online news that don’t have any advertisement, sponsoring and are in a really good financial situation.
In France, I can think of mediapart (fully online), le canard enchaîné (online and paper). People pay for them because their paper is worth more than just lightening up a barbecue.