The principle in the UK is almost sound. Take taxpayer money and give it to an NGO. Though they do it through a separate "licence" company which is a parasite, the original idea was so it could demonstrate at all levels it was independent of government interference. Rather like US democracy, it hasn't worked out as well as it should have, but that doesn't mean it's not a reasonable idea in the future.

The US still does have an OK "public broadcaster" - PBS (even though it's mostly not known for "news"). It wasn't run by Fox News hosts either, it produced some fairly progressive or at least pro-scientific content. However it is getting destroyed right now, precisely because it doesn't fit the agenda of the current government.

The only solution to this is aligning the government with the people. I'm afraid revolution is the only way to do this (although there is a tiny sliver of hope that it can be resolved without too much violence). Until then ad-"supported" news won't save you, because they are all fundamentally capitalist. Iskra didn't have ads in it.