Reporting the news is incredibly useful and even profitable. Even commentating on the news, very different from reporting on it, can be very profitable. Plenty of people do it quite adeptly over YouTube and make a living not only for themselves, but for a whole tightly-knit team.

But if you're dumping a million a month on a DIE division or consultancy firm, well, that million could have paid off your entire staff's salaries and travel expenses.