The press is viable using ads, just not ads that are targeted by spying on people and selling their information. In the long run it also might be the only thing that reduces use of outright ad-blockers, which could kill industries.

But ads are not viable unless they are driven by information about the audience - down to the individual. However, I am also an advocate of returning to the "sponsorship" model - old-fashion ads, if you will. No tracking there - the sponsor just knows approx audience size and demographics.

I didn't say "ads have never been a thing". I'm saying they are no longer viable. Sort of like horse-draw buggies were no longer viable after the arrival of the automobile.

If you’re going to claim that targeted ads are that kind of improvement over the alternative, you should present some evidence of their relative efficacy. From what I’ve seen, unless you rely solely on marketing claims, you won’t find it because the improvement is marginal at best.