Could blocklisting be the final straw for the news industry?

By Jamie Williams, Senior Executive

Whilst traffic to news websites has exploded over the past few months, publishers have seen their digital advertising revenues plummet. That makes no sense, right? It doesn’t until you become familiar with blocklisting.

In a bid to protect their clients, advertisers have always wanted to avoid their ads appearing alongside coverage of upsetting and controversial topics. Over the years, the marketing world has adopted a technique known as blocklisting, whereby advertisers ban keywords to prevent ads appearing next to stories of particular topics. 

Brands in the past have made a concerted effort not be to seen profiting from misery, avoiding stories such as terrorist attacks, poverty and most recently Donald Trump.

Many advertisers have now added “coronavirus” to their blocklists. And since there is nothing but COVID-19 related stories dominating our news sites, this presents a serious problem for the news industry: they are barely earning a penny from any clicks.

According to the News Media Association, the move by advertisers will cost the news industry a staggering £50 million over three months. In an open letter to leading advertisers, Tracy De Groose, executive chair of Newsworks wrote that “our unified industry appeal to advertisers is incredibly simple: back, and don’t block British journalism.”

It is worth noting that this lost revenue could not come at a worse time. The news industry has already become increasingly squeezed, witnessing collapsed advertising spending as companies freeze their marketing spend and a decline in printed news sales as the public move online.  

The UK Government is clearly worried about these developments. Last week, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture and Media, Oliver Dowden wrote to leading advertisers to express the Government’s concerns. Mr Dowden pleaded that advertisers remove any attempts to blocklist COVID content, warning that it could have “far-reaching consequences” for what he called the “fourth emergency service” - the press.

Right now, more than ever, the country needs an effective press. The importance of scrutiny and holding the Government to account cannot be over-exaggerated during a crisis – it has and will continue to save lives. Yet as newsrooms become increasingly squeezed, and their very existence becomes threatened, it is vital that a concrete plan is devised to save them.