So what's the answer then? Before the internet almost all journalism was "paywalled." You either bought a subscription or an individual copy of what the organization has to offer.
Ad-supported journalism is a joke in a society that abuses advertising so thoroughly. Using an ad blocker is more than a convenience, it's a security measure. Arguably it's also better for the environment [1] [2].
One article [3] argues for "non-reformist reforms," which try to mitigate the commercial pressures on journalism. However the article's solution seems to be to switch to public media models and/or government funding. As the article puts it:
"Therefore, any initiative that erodes the commercial and anti-democratic design of existing media institutions—by transitioning them into nonprofit outlets, facilitating public media partnerships, unionizing newsrooms, and establishing media cooperatives—can help radicalize news workers and engage communities while laying the groundwork for more transformative change in the future."
I honestly don't know how well that'll work, but it's also basically what the article suggests to pay for journalism for a year:
"They can enlist foundations or other sponsors to underwrite their work. They can turn to readers who are willing to subscribe, renew their subscriptions, or make added donations to subsidize important coverage during a crucial election."
Stengel's article also says, "A large percentage of these Americans see media as being biased. Well, part of the reason they think media are biased is that most fair, accurate, and unbiased news sits behind a wall."
That wasn't true 40 years ago and I don't think it's true now. A lot of journalism strives to be unbiased, but that will always be a goal it reaches for, not one it will attain. To say otherwise only continues to erode society's trust of journalism.
The money to pay journalists has to come from somewhere.
[1] https://marmelab.com/blog/2022/01/17/media-websites-carbon-e...
[2] https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/8/2/18
[3] https://lpeproject.org/blog/taking-media-out-of-the-market/