I don't mind paying for a service by letting them show ads, as long as those ads don't feature malware or are otherwise annoying/resource-straining/...

I hate TV ads and never watch TV as i find the ads intrusive. But taking the minor rewards from content creators that my presence can bring - when I'm benefiting from their content and cost them server resources - seems pretty unfair to me.

Here's your reason for populism and the disappearance of good journalism: no one is willing to pay or be even in the slightest inconvenienced.