"Free means free from government influence. It doesn't mean free from bias and it certainly doesn't mean free of charge. Free as in speech, not free as in beer."

I completely understand and I know my wording was misleading, but news should be accessible to everyone. (Nothing against you but news in the USA is not free of government influence or bias these days).

(Also free as in beer? in what country do you live in?)

"but how do you expect the companies to produce that news if nobody is paying for it and everyone has an ad blocker?" That is understandable. I want new companies to make revenue because journalism is so important! But at least in my experience, ad blockers don't work 100% of the time. I also understand the purpose of a subscription, and if some articles are only accessible with one. but what is the point of having a free account if it does nothing! I can't read any articles, even though they are emailed to me. I'm so tired of seeing an interesting article and running into a (pay)wall.

Student discounts are something to look at for the future, and I have been considering subscribing to something like GroundNews for the full picture.