Very apropos the question regarding journalistic independence and state involvement, Reporters without Borders just published their 2009 Press Freedom Index.
The low-public support United States is ranked 20th (with the UK and Luxembourg). The high-support Nordic countries are ranked a shared 1st (together with Ireland).
To take two examples, annual public support for journalism amounts to roughly $1.35 per capita in the U.S., versus about $200 per capita in my native Denmark. (does someone have figures from Ireland? I don’t)
Obviously, this does not imply causation, but at the very least it seriously challenges the idea that substantial public support for journalism necessarily undermines press freedom.
rasmuskleisnielsen.net 
Rasmus,
Here’s some data for Ireland; haven’t been able to parse it yet, however.
http://www.ejc.net/media_landscape/article/ireland/