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.

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