That's still the need to make money. It's just that they're making it from the government, and therefore have to publish what their real customer wants.

The problem with these is that the taxpayers did not decide on this cashflow. The government did. And that is why you perceive news as propaganda, because these newsoutlets very well know that they are being payed by the government, and therefore they have to preport what the current government wants to see reported. Its a bit like with ads: The customer is not the consumer, the consumer is the product. The government pays taxpayer money to be able to influence public opinion.