I use Apple News almost daily. Because I’ve used it for a while now, I’ve been able to curate it reasonably well. The only thing that I dislike are the inserted ads, but this is endemic to nearly every publication and news source available.
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You can use a free NextDNS account to set up a filter. Add these domains to the deny list of your configuration (you set this up on their website) news.iadsdk.apple.com, iadcontent.apple.com, iadsdk.apple.com
Download the free NextDNS app and activate it. No more ads. 
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Oh, those links are what you paste into the “Denylist” tab of your NextDNS configuration. You can set up an account and the configuration here.
Thanks for clarifying. And, I suspect I can easily get by on the free version. I can’t imagine coming anywhere close to 300,000 queries/month, depending, of course, on how a “query” is defined.
Free
300,000 queries/month1
Unlimited devices
Unlimited configurations
Access to all features
Community support
$0/month
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Yeah, I’m making the same assumption for myself with the same question about how queries are defined!
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I hit the threshold after installing NextDNS on my iPhone, iPad, Mac Mini, and kids iPads.
I’ve never been so happy to throw $3 a month at someone. Can never go back.
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I have it in a laptop, iPad, and iPhone. I hit the limit.
I have a convoluted story why I haven’t paid for it that I won’t go into but it has nothing to do with cost.
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Also hit the limit. My router does it as well, so I didn’t pay for it.
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We tend to see 50-300k queries/month/device if it’s not off/asleep most of the day. Our worst computer does 500k/month, much from open tabs and syncing.
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Can I get a like from everyone in one of the 190+ countries that don’t even get Apple News still?
As I mentioned above, I discovered NextDNS a few weeks ago. It does a great job of removing the absolutely ridiculous amount of ads from Apple News+. It makes it…useable. There are some pluses. Magazine subscriptions, articles that may not be in alignment with my thinking at all times, nice interface generally speaking.
But there are also still some negatives.
The font and font size for each article is different. Instead of standardizing this like you’d see in Reeder 5 or Unread, it’s all over the map. The first step to reading each article is to increase the font 4 points, and that’s just to make things look decent.
Then you have blocked sources not really being blocked. The little square where a story normally would be now shows “you blocked this news source”. Not entirely helpful.
I know you can limit the feed to just sources you follow, but I think a healthy news intake involves some random sources and points of view at times.
Additionally, you can’t send Apple News+ stories to an app like Reader or Instagram. The articles usually aren’t captured properly, and sharing with friends is a no go unless they also subscribe to Apple News.
And finally, if you like reading a source that isn’t on AN+, then you have to go elsewhere anyway - i.e. NY Times.
It’s an okay app, but for Apple I’d say it’s underwhelming. If It wasn’t for my exorbitant Apple One sub, it would not be an app I’d seek out on its own.
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I agree. I take it a step further. I purposely select sources that promote perspectives I disagree with and those with which I find more common ground. Doing so helps me avoid the siloed echo chamber and confirmation bias. For example, I follow the NYT, National Review, Vox, The Atlantic, WSJ, Politico, and more.
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I try News+ for one month every year or two but it doesn’t change. 