Future of Media

Green shoots in digital advertising, video and subs at NYT, Bloomberg, People Inc and Dow Jones.

As the loss-making Washington Post announced major layoffs this week – five major US news businesses posted earnings updates which suggested their industry is far from in decline.

The New York Times, People Inc, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters all saw full-year revenue growth in 2025. And News Corp reported growth for the first six months of its financial year (which starts in July).

Publishers are facing tough competition in the advertising market from Google owner Alphabet which reported crossing $400bn in revenue for the first time in 2025 this week with search revenue up 17%. Publishers have complained bitterly over the use of their content without payment in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. At least five publishers have sued Google over what they described as its “deceptive and manipulative” adtech practices.

But subscriptions growth and reader revenue are helping these businesses to grow despite online advertising challenges.