Serious policy question. We subsidize industries all the time. Ethanol, gasoline, even solar panels. Given that local journalism is VITAL to a functioning democracy, can you think of a way we could stabilize newspapers? Of course, potential censorship is a HUGE concern.
Modern adtech & ad-based funding makes perverse incentives worse even than censorship; it monetizes self-censorship and "reporting" on inane crap that destroys one's own profession.