In the past, TV news was outside of the profits focused portion.
Not because of any high principle: it was there to fill airtime - much cheaper to produce than other entertainment.
In the past, the news was15-30 minutes. With 24-hour news programs, people have to come up with stuff to broadcast. That’s when the networks start to create news and go after ratings to turn a profit.
I was being a bit cynical in my comment about banning commercials, but in all honesty I think if you take away the profit motive, you’ll see a lot less sensationalism on the news programs.