Quite the opposite. Technology allows users to become less and less power users.
> It's sad to see profit motive distract people away from that core reason.
Not sure I got that part, are you complaining that other people are not leaving their jobs and living aside to build the product you want for free with no pay?
That seems pedantic. Technology allows users to become "less and less power users" by giving them the tools to solve problems they were not advanced enough to solve before, or that were too time-consuming or difficult to solve before.
That's exactly the same point the OP is making -- Google has the potential to build a tool which would allow people who otherwise cannot make use of these archives to do so.
Exactly, today a regular user can do what a power user could do years ago.
Create a full website with good design, structure, functionality? You had to be a power user, but not anymore.
Drive a car? You had to know how to use a clutch, shift gears, etc. Not anymore.
Access the internet? You had to buy a modem, configure it, connect, etc. Not anymore.
And so on.
Technology removes burdens, and allows regular users to do what only power users could before.
People don't want to be power users. People don't even want to be users. People want to listen to music, move, read.
Power users are a very, very small number, probably sub-million, generate zero revenue, complain a lot and want features that cost a lot of money. There's no reason why Google would target them.
But I'm sure you can find a professional service that does that, allowing for powerful search of historical news. Probably costs a lot, though.