I think you misunderstand why the "soft" sections of the newspaper exist. Real estate, automobile, and lifestyle sections are all very profitable in terms of what they can charge advertisers, and I would guess technology and business are similar. In effect, the typical news organizations run a cross-subsidy by which advertising in the "soft" sections subsidizes the "hard" news, while the latter drives the reputation which builds the readership. It seems to me that this logic applies equally well to any advertising-driven media organization, no matter the medium.