The news angle seems a bit....eh. While, yes, news outlets used the material to report a story, the poster here is not a news outlet. They're an individual reaping benefits from posting such content. I personally believe that any profits earned should be split evenly among ALL the creators of the content, no matter if any one of them takes up the majority of the post.
Example: Say you use 10 photos in your blog post, each one by a different person. Even if your post is mostly text that you yourself have written, if you make $1,100 then I think fair would mean that each contributor gets an even share. Each person would get $100, including the writer of the post.
Fair use should also = fair gains.
I guarantee you that those news outlets got permission first. Most newspapers, magazines, and news websites have compliance editors whos job is just taking care of stuff like that.