You raise the money and you have to deliver. And media, esp. things like news, have thin margins.
I don't know what the going rate is these days but I recall numbers like $0.2 – $2.5 per 1,000 views. Meaning you need to get, and maintain, lots and lots of clicks. Which means lowest common denominator clickbate, while simultaneously not being too edgy and scaring off advertisers. And it's a deep, busy market, so you've got tons of competition, too.
So throwing $1B at it is kind of overkill; it'll be ages before you ever get it back, and it locks you into a race-to-the-bottom market that's incredibly fickle. You coulda put that into a tech startup, or S&P 500 index fund, etc. for less risk and less BS.
I don't know what the going rate is these days but I recall numbers like $0.2 – $2.5 per 1,000 views. Meaning you need to get, and maintain, lots and lots of clicks. Which means lowest common denominator clickbate, while simultaneously not being too edgy and scaring off advertisers. And it's a deep, busy market, so you've got tons of competition, too.
So throwing $1B at it is kind of overkill; it'll be ages before you ever get it back, and it locks you into a race-to-the-bottom market that's incredibly fickle. You coulda put that into a tech startup, or S&P 500 index fund, etc. for less risk and less BS.