News now accounts for 8.6% of all FAST viewing hours, with some households consuming news content almost exclusively, according to a new report from Wurl, Demand Gen Report writes. But many advertisers still rely on broad genre- and channel-level exclusions that limit access to news inventory entirely, said Wurl CEO Dave Bernath. “Brand safety has historically forced advertisers into an all-or-nothing approach with news,” Bernath added in a statement. “But the reality is far more nuanced. Today, with scene-level contextual analysis, advertisers can evaluate the actual moment before an ad break rather than making assumptions about an entire channel or …

New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger lashed out at AI companies during a speech at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress, saying that they are “consolidating their outsize control over our data and our attention,” according to a transcript published by Reuters. Sulzberger charged, “Their hijacking of the public square is made possible by the original sin that animates their A.I. products — a brazen theft of intellectual property that has occurred at an unprecedented scale. Tech giants strip-mine news websites without permission or compensation. They repackage these stolen goods as their own, siphoning off the audiences and revenue that otherwise would go to …

The Illinois General Assembly has authorized the Chicago City Council to impose a digital advertising tax within the city, WTTW reports. The measure was included in a $56 billion budget bill. Mayor Brandon Johnson had called for this action to help Chicago fill a projected $1.16 billion gap in the city’s 2027 budget. “As the economy continues to shift, and the digital medium becomes more dominant, it is essential that the big tech corporations earning untold billions through targeted advertising are part of the solution as we work to respond to the challenges our residents face on a daily basis,” …

Consumers feel “ambushed and annoyed,” by digital advertising -- and some are tuning out, according to The Harvard Business Review. But tests showed that consumers are less likely to feel that way when they have control of content or timing. Of two groups tested, the one able to exercise control showed 9-15% more attention to the ads and suffered 8-17% less annoyance than the no-choice group. In general, digital ads annoy 70% of consumers, 18% of whom use ad blockers for streaming content. In addition, 37% have canceled a subscription because of advertising. 

OpenAI has no plans to share ChatGPT advertising revenue with publishers, Varun Shetty, vice president of media partnerships for OpenAI, said on Tuesday, Press Gazette reports. Appearing at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress in Marseille, Shetty was asked whether revenue would be shared. “Not at this point,” he said. Shetty added that he did not see traffic as the “core value” for publishers appearing within ChatGPTsearch.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley was fired the day after a heated confrontation with the show’s new  executive producer Nick Bilton, The Washington Post reports. ““I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don’t say this lightly. I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground,” Bilton said in an email to the staff. “That was not the path Scott chose.” Pelley said the staff has been fighting political interference under the new owner Paramount Skydance. 

Versant Media, which was spun off from NBCUniversal earlier this year, has participated in a Series A funding round to form a partnership with GammaTime, a microdrama streaming platform, Variety reports. GammaTime will work with Versant to develop a slate of original shows while utilizing content from the company’s entertainment library.

The Defense Department has announced that its press office is a now classified space and is no longer accessible to journalists, Associated Press reports. The move further restricts media access at the Pentagon. “The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility,” wrote Joel Valdez, acting Pentagon press secretary, on X. ““These speechwriters routinely handle classified material … as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space.” Valdez added: “There’s nothing controversial about that.”

iHeartRadio has formed a partnership with LG Electronics to bring its content to LG Radio+, a free ad-supported audio streaming service, Inside Radio reports.. The deal includes iHeartRadio’s over-the-air and digital stations and its podcast catalog. “The integration of iHeartRadio’s massive content library coupled with LG’s innovative, high-quality technology truly embody our ‘Life’s Good’ mantra.’” says Matthew Durgin, vice president of MS content and services at LG Electronics USA.

Over 60% of grocery store shoppers have bought a product after seeing it advertised on an in-store screen, according to a study by Grocery TV, Supermarket News reports. In addition, the survey of 1,000 shoppers found a 23% increase in front-end acceptance of in-store screens, from one third to over half. In addition, the study found that 95% of grocery shoppers make at least half of their purchase decisions while visiting the store.