Cheap and crappy always beats out more expensive and better in America. (I know, my cynicism is showing.
) And anything of quality that is going to survive needs to be monetized. It can survive if enough people pay enough of a premium to support it. Like toll roads, HBO, and personal shoppers.
If we want lengthy, well-researched, investigative journalism, we have to be willing to pay for it. Maybe we subscribe to an expanded online version while the free version provides the headline and a quick synopsis and a link for subscribers to "learn more."
Anything good that we want to survive, we must be willing to pay for. If we expect it for free, we must expect it to be crass, shallow, and monetized in some other way.