I’m Gabriel Dorosz, and I’m excited and grateful to lead INMA’s newly relaunched Advertising Initiative. With nearly 30 years of experience in digital media and advertising — including the last seven years leading strategy and insights for advertising at The New York Times — I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges of news media advertising.

I live in Brooklyn, New York, with my wife and 9-year-old daughter, though I’m originally from the American Midwest (Chicago and Toledo, Ohio). We’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively and even lived abroad in Spain as a family back in 2017, so I’m thrilled to have a chance to connect and work with many of you around the world.

At The New York Times, I helped develop advertising strategies and campaigns of all kinds, then led the audience strategy, research, and measurement teams before leaving to found a consultancy focused on creating a better and more rational media ecosystem for publishers, brands, and audiences, and this led me to INMA. 

Prior to The Times, I held agency strategy roles at WPP, FCB, Red Antler, Cramer-Krasselt, and others, and in my early days I built award-winning branded sites, digital experiences, and interactive applications. 

My work at New York Times Advertising fueled innovations and launches including: 

• NYTA’s first-to-market Attention Measurement practice.

• GenAI targeting tool BrandMatch.

• The identification and subsequent monetisation of Times Portfolio “superusers” through a multi-wave mixed-method research project.

• NYTA’s overall Portfolio offering and efforts to “reshape the ad economy” more broadly. 

The Advertising Initiative represents INMA’s sixth active initiative, joining our successful programmes in Readers First, Digital Platforms, Product & Tech, Newsroom Transformation, and Generative AI. 

Read on for a deeper perspective on our recent INMA World Congress of News Media, as well as our mission and plans with the initiative. But if you just want the quick asks, please consider:

• Forward this newsletter to your colleagues in advertising and revenue.

• Sign up for the bi-weekly Advertising Initiative Newsletter.

• Join our dedicated Slack channel (#advertising-initiative) for real-time discussions, resource sharing, and peer networking.

• E-mail me your thoughts, challenges, and successes. I’m at gabriel.dorosz@inma.org.

(You can also click here to go to the Advertising Initiative page any time to see our upcoming plans.)

Thanks and read on for more.

Gabe

A view from INMA World Congress: news media advertising at a critical crossroads

The recent INMA World Congress of News Media in New York delivered sobering wake-up calls. Yet the starkest challenges may be the ferocious ones facing news media advertising — challenges answered by remarkable and inspiring innovations unveiled at INMA New York.

INMA President Gert Ysebaert rightly declared “the world needs journalism” in his opening keynote. But he and INMA CEO Earl Wilkinson’s keynotes also confronted hard truths: We’re entering what Wilkinson termed “the post-traffic era,” where search traffic is projected to reach nearly zero within two years and platform referrals continue their dramatic decline.

This threatens multiple components of the news media business model but none more than advertising. 

The urgency has only intensified since the New York World Congress. On the same day as the conference opening reception, Google announced at I/O 2025 the broad rollout of AI Mode to all U.S. users — accelerating the shift toward AI-powered search that promises to further reduce publisher traffic.

Then, just days after INMA New York concluded, Business Insider announced layoffs of 21% of its workforce specifically citing traffic changes, demonstrating the immediate stakes facing even well-resourced digital publishers.

In INMA’s own survey of 71 leading media companies attending World Congress, 52% ranked “maintaining or growing advertising revenue” as their top challenge for the next 12 months — higher than AI implementation (44%) or revenue diversification (43%).

Despite digital advertising now estimated to compose 75% of the global +US$1 trillion advertising market, news publishers capture only ~5% of this massive opportunity despite serving and engaging valuable audiences. 

Meanwhile, Google, Meta, and Amazon control approximately 60% of all digital advertising revenue globally, with their dominance even stronger in the U.S. market, leaving publishers fighting for scraps in an increasingly commoditised ecosystem.

In addition, Wilkinson noted: “We kept hearing from some of the tech companies: News is a problem. We hear it from advertisers: News is a problem.” 

This perception problem, combined with the platform decline and AI’s disruption of traditional Web search along with the data disadvantages of low conversion signals, creates what Wilkinson described as a “fork in the road” where publishers must decide whether to “fix news” or “work around news.”

Yet the World Congress was ultimately about transformation and opportunity — and the resilience of journalism.

Perhaps no moment captured this spirit better than seeing the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine win the Global Media Awards’ “Best of Show” award for “Rescuing Freedom: The Campaign to Save Ukrainian Regional Journalism.” 

As CEO Oksana Brovko accepted the award, she reminded the audience: “These awards today are because of the brave world of Ukrainian journalists but also because of you all who are standing with us. Together, we are stronger.”

The business innovation revenue and advertising stories were also inspiring. 

The Post and Courier’s remarkable success — achieving +57% paywall revenue and +54% ad revenue through unified analytics — demonstrates that publishers that master first-party data activation can thrive. Condé Nast reported driving US$600 million in product sales through editorial content, while Media24’s innovative “swipe cards” — Tinder-like advertising experiences — transformed traditional retail advertising. 

Bloomberg showcased its approach to selling advertisers the value of context and The New York Times demonstrated how “advertising works when it follows the audience,” with its AI-powered targeting tool BrandMatch, pairing advertiser messages with relevant editorial content and first-party signals.

Meanwhile, creator economy insights proved equally valuable: Independent journalist Noor Tagouri showed how authentic storytelling commands premium brand partnerships, while The Boston Globe’s B Side initiative demonstrated how publishers can build young audiences and monetise them through creator-style brand collaborations. 

The 2025 Global Media Awards also showcased sophisticated approaches to advertising challenges. From United Daily News Group’s AI-powered strategies to reclaim advertising revenue and Mediahuis Ireland’s first-party data retargeting revolution to Russmedia’s emotional storytelling approach and VG Norway’s gift-giving platform, award-winning publishers demonstrated that creative format innovation and data-driven personalisation are driving measurable advertising success across diverse global markets.

Defining our mission for the Advertising Initiative

The inspiring examples from World Congress and the Global Media Awards demonstrate that while the challenges are real, publishers that embrace innovation and experimentation are finding paths forward.

That’s exactly what we want to do with our initiative.

We’re making it our mission to help INMA members navigate and find paths forward through the threats of the “post-traffic era” for news media digital advertising.

From first-party data to premium ad products to AI, measurement and brand safety, we want to advance a deeper, clearer understanding of the evolving advertising landscape by exploring innovations, demystifying complexity, and translating insights into strategies that build sustainable, future-ready advertising models.

This practical initiative is about tailored, forward-thinking guidance that media leaders can use now.

As Earl Wilkinson noted at the INMA Board of Directors meeting in New York: “We want to simplify and demystify what is often opaque or overly complex about the digital advertising ecosystem for media leaders. We want to focus on realistic implementation rather than theory. We want to bridge the gap between cutting-edge possibility and business realities.”

In my first few weeks, I had the privilege of conducting in-depth interviews with 12 INMA Board members and news industry executives across diverse markets — from Mediahuis and Schibsted in Europe to MediaNews Group and Hearst in North America, News Corp Australia in the South Pacific, South China Morning Post in East Asia, and The Hindu Group in South Asia — and presenting the findings to the INMA Board of Directors in New York. 

This, along with extensive analysis of industry research, global and regional spend data, market trends, and industry outlook reports helped us identify eight priorities.

Here are our eight critical primary areas — four primary and four secondary: 

1. First-party data activation for advertising revenue

While 86% of publishers cite first-party data as their most significant asset for driving ad revenue, many still struggle to effectively monetise it.

The variance is striking: Some publishers like Schibsted and The New York Times have built sophisticated logged-in ecosystems, while publishers in other markets are just beginning this journey.

We’ll provide actionable strategies for data collection, identity resolution, audience insights, clean room implementation, AI-driven targeting tools, and advertiser partnerships that use audience data to help protect premium CPMs.

Our first Webinar will focus on ways publishers have used engagement data to demonstrate the value of their direct audiences to advertisers.

2. Advertising format and product innovation

With digital advertising evolving rapidly — from AI-enhanced contextual targeting to creator-inspired authentic content — publishers need fresh approaches to stand out.

The World Congress and industry reports reveal strong opportunities with premium branded content, video inventory, commerce integration and cross-media packaging.

Learning from creators: The World Congress revealed that one in five adults under 24 use TikTok as a news source, while the creator economy is projected to surpass US$525 billion by 2030.

As Anna-Katharina Kölbl from Funke Media noted: “People brands are more important than company brands” — a lesson news organisations must embrace. 

3. Sales and revenue diversification strategies

Beyond traditional display advertising, publishers are finding success through events (contributing 25% of total advertising revenue for some organisations), branded content studios, affiliate commerce, and balancing premium direct deals with programmatic strategies.

The variance across markets is instructive: Many North American publishers focus heavily on programmatic optimisation, while European publishers maintain stronger direct sales relationships, and Asian publishers highlight integrated commerce experiences.

4. Measurement and attribution excellence

Given the 2025 IAB Outlook Study noted cross-platform measurement remains the top concern for 44% of ad buyers, publishers need frameworks that prove advertising impact and demonstrate ROI.

As Schibsted CEO Siv Juvik Tveitnes emphasised in our conversation: “We need a common methodology for measuring advertising effect.”

We’ll focus on the potential for attention metrics, brand lift studies, incrementality testing, attribution, and media mix modeling (MMM) approaches that articulate news media's unique value.

5. Talent and organisation design

The advertising skills gap is universal but manifests differently by region.

Some 84% of advertisers and agencies report scarcity in data and analytics skills, while only 13% of media leaders believe their organisations are well-prepared for AI integration.

Some publishers struggle with balancing centralised efficiency (or centralised innovation) and local market needs, while others face rapid digital transformation requiring massive skills conversion from print to digital operations.

6. Brand safety and news environment value

Regional perspectives, definitions, and processes around brand safety and brand suitability vary dramatically. It’s a major concern in polarised markets like the United States and Brazil, while Nordic publishers report less severe challenges.

We’ll help publishers focus on differentiation strategies and performance case studies that demonstrate the unique advertising value of trusted journalism environments.

7. AI-powered advertising operations

In his keynote, Earl noted AI adoption in advertising is accelerating faster than in newsrooms, with publishers finding “quicker results in advertising, marketing, HR” than editorial applications.

We’ll explore AI applications for audience segmentation, targeting, creative optimisation, dynamic pricing, and yield optimisation that enhance efficiency and revenue across the advertising lifecycle.

8. Ad industry insight and strategic partnerships

Understanding buyer perspectives, ad tech ecosystem dynamics, and industry trends requires constant learning.

From social media strategies and influencer partnerships to emerging video formats and platform relationships, we will provide insights into what advertisers actually want versus what publishers assume they need.

This is the plan. Yet feel free to push me off this plan. That’s an open invitation to let me know what you think.

Dates for your calendar

• Attend our first Webinar on June 25: Our first Webinar is titled “Beyond Traffic: How Publishers Are Driving Advertising Revenue Through Engaged Audiences.” We’re going to explore different ways publishers are building direct relationships, implementing engagement-focused KPIs, and demonstrating to advertisers why engaged audiences command premium CPMs. Click here to register free now.
• Register for our September master class: Our “First-Party Data Activation for Advertising Master Class” will provide an intensive deep dive into how news media companies can transform their most valuable asset — first-party data — into sustainable advertising revenue growth through strategic collection, segmentation, and activation strategies, including AI targeting products, that deliver premium CPMs and deeper advertiser relationships. 

We need your voice

INMA’s Advertising Initiative succeeds only with active participation from advertising leaders facing these challenges daily.

Whether you’re a chief revenue officer wrestling with platform dependence, an advertising director implementing first-party data strategies, or a product leader developing innovative formats, your insights and experiences will shape our content and direction.

• Share your challenges: What advertising obstacles keep you awake at night? Anything missing from our focus areas? Most importantly, what are you doing to prepare for and navigate “post-traffic era” for advertising? 
• Highlight your innovations: Have you explored, experimented, or succeeded in any of our focus areas? We’re actively seeking case studies and best practices to share with the global INMA community. It’s great exposure and highly rewarding to share learnings with your industry peers.
• Feedback welcome: How can this initiative best serve your organisation’s advertising needs? What topics, formats, or resources would provide the most value?

E-mail me directly at gabriel.dorosz@inma.org for any of the above and we can plan next steps from there.

A call to action to get your advertising colleagues involved 

Over the last few weeks, it became clear to me that we don’t just need to define the Advertising Initiative, but we also need to build its community — and I’d love your help. Below are multiple ways for you and your advertising colleagues to help us kickstart engagement:

• Forward this newsletter to your colleagues in advertising and revenue: This might be their first engagement with INMA. Know that our team is here to help if they need it.

• Click here to learn more about the Advertising Initiative. 

• Sign up for the bi-weekly Advertising Initiative Newsletterfor insights, case studies, and industry analysis (free to you as a member).

• Join our dedicated Slack Channel (#advertising-initiative) within the overall INMA Slackfor real-time discussions, resource sharing, and peer networking. If you have a Slack subscription, click here. If not, e-mail membership@inma.org to get connected.

Let’s create the future together

The post-traffic era demands new strategies, fresh thinking, and collective action. As my colleague Grzegorz Piechota reflected on the World Congress, the conference itself demonstrated the courage our industry needs — from Earl Wilkinson’s unflinching opening keynote addressing the Trump presidency’s impact on media to the Ukrainian publishers continuing their work under fire and winning the Global Media Awards competition’s grand prize. 

As INMA President Gert Ysebaert reminded us: “The world needs independent journalism. Let’s not compromise on core beliefs.” But we must pair idealism with pragmatism and embrace the business model innovation required in an era of accelerating change.

The publishers that thrive will be those that embrace the post-traffic era, focus relentlessly on direct audience relationships, master their data, innovate their formats, learn valuable lessons from creators, and create distinction to prove their unique value in an increasingly crowded, competitive, and often unfair and irrational marketplace. The World Congress showed us it’s not just possible but necessary.

Ready to embrace the challenge? Let's evolve news media advertising together.

About this newsletter

Today’s newsletter is written by Gabriel Dorosz, based in Booklyn, New York, United States, and lead for the INMA Advertising Initiative. You can read his full bio here.

Reach him at gabriel.dorosz@inma.org, connect on LinkedIn, or join the INMA #advertising-initiative Slack channel.

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