The model is far more established than you might think. The first general-circulation newspapers in the US were largely party political organs, some of which retain elements of that in their names: the Arizona Republic was originally the Arizona Republican. Papers with Union in their titles occasionally reflect a labour bent.

That faded with the advent of mass-market advertising, which grew tremendously from about 1860 onward, and becoming a mounting concern in the 1890s and 1900s.

I've mentioned Hamilton Holt's short book (notes of a lecture, really), Commercialism and Journalism (1909) a few times. The first section is a very good breakdown of the role of advertising in media.

https://archive.org/details/commercialismjou00holtuoft