How can the publishing industry overcome the myriad challenges it faces? Writer Avya Chaudhary takes a look...

AI, big tech and social media are battering publishers from all sides. With walled gardens, the open web, and programmatic solutions gaining ground, will 2025 finally turn the tide?

Few people understand the crisis in journalism better than Tanya Field, CPO at Novatiq. She works closely with publishers to verify consented first-party cookies and build accurate, real-time user profiles. But even with these tools, many in the publishing industry are still scrambling to make content pay and keep profits afloat. “Publishers feel as though they’re losing control of their destinies, struggling just to stay afloat as ad tech giants and walled gardens roll up the lifeboats,” Tanya points out. 

It doesn’t help that both consumers and regulators are quick to pounce on privacy missteps and penalise publishers. A case in point is the recent Insider class action lawsuit where the publisher was accused of violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VVPA) and allegedly sharing readers’ data with Facebook without consent. 

Many brands are scrambling for a long-term fix to avoid these missteps, but as Tanya points out, that’s easier said than done. “While many are still navigating away from intrusive advertising practices, their journey is complicated by Google's inconsistent stances on tracking cookies and device fingerprinting.” 

Throw in AI’s rapid rise, changing consumer expectations, fierce competition, and other headwinds, and it’s no wonder media layoffs topped 15,000 last year. The Washington Post alone cut 4% of its workforce after losing USD$100m (£78.8m) in 2024. Yet, across the pond, things look brighter - three out of five of the UK’s largest media companies grew their news revenue, collectively adding £1.1bn, by a 3.3% bump, compared against the UK’s modest 0.4% growth rate, according to Press Gazette.

So, where does this leave the industry? Will layoffs keep coming? And how will big tech shape the news landscape? And what role is AI playing in all this? Stick around as we unpack how digitisation is both a gateway to fresh opportunities and a minefield of challenges, for publishers in 2025.

An on-and-off relationship with AI 

Since the “Mass AI” boom in 2022, publishers have been weaving AI into their operations - and 2025 shows no signs of slowing down. Editors now use AI to translate content into local languages, whip up quick summaries, and deliver personalised recommendations. Germany’s Express even has an AI author, Klara Indernach, who wrote 6% of its articles and drew 5.2% of the readership last year.

OpenAI has also started striking direct partnerships with publishers around content licensing. AI firms use their material, including paywalled content, to train large language models. In return, the publisher will get visibility on AI-driven search and chatbot platforms and access to AI tools for building new products in sales, marketing, and editorial. The Financial Times projects USD$5-10m this year from its OpenAI partnership, while Informa’s deal with Microsoft reportedly brought in over USD$10m (£7.8m) in just the first year. 

Not everyone is on board with these collaborations, though. Instead, they are looking to pursue a legal route to thwart AI giants from “misusing” journalist “copyrighted” resources. The New York Times, New York Daily News, and the Centre for Investigative Reporting sued Microsoft and OpenAI. Trial outcomes are still awaited. 

A similar complaint by Raw Story and AlterNet last February accused OpenAI of stripping copyright info from articles. That case was dismissed, with the judge ruling the alleged harm didn’t warrant a lawsuit. Interestingly, the music industry has had better luck in their lawsuit against Anthropic over similar copyright violations where the AI company is now keeping measures in place to prevent its AI models from breaching copyrights.

Tanya believes that the dynamics of the AI-publisher relationship in 2025 will largely depend on one thing: geography. “In South Africa, it appears unlikely that many publishers will embrace AI technologies given that it remains a developing market for the moment. Meanwhile, AI companies in the Middle East will gain short shrift until AI engines become better at processing Arabic.” 

The double-edged sword of social media 

For Savina Parvanova, global marketing director at Limelight, the biggest danger for publishers is overreliance on social media platforms that marginalise them. “These channels deprioritise journalism, threaten business models, and damage independent, reliable, verified journalism.” She also points to how social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, now favour personal content and ads with publishers scrambling for their audience share. 

Her concerns aren’t unfounded. X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk has limited news traffic and suspended reporters, leading outlets like The Guardian to exit despite 27M+ followers. Meta, meanwhile, has axed its news feed and scaled back fact-checking to curate more personal “feeds.”

The Trade Desk’s GM of inventory development EMEA Sven Hagemeier also points out how Big Tech and social media have reshaped consumer habits, and often for the worse. “Big Tech’s monopolies are resulting in the decline of premium publishers, with many outlets forced to clutter pages with a high volume of non-targeted ads driving away frustrated users,” warns Sven. “To counter, publishers are introducing costly paywalls that exclude many potential readers that can’t afford subscription fees.” 

As a result, publishers are abandoning traditional social platforms and rethinking how they connect with audiences. Instead of relying on algorithm-driven middlemen, they treat platforms as complementary tools for community building. Many are expanding their reach through Google Discover, which curates content based on user interests and browsing habits. 

Meanwhile, closed networks like WhatsApp, Discord, and Telegram are becoming go-to channels for direct updates, be it CNN’s 14.5 million followers or BBC News with 9.3 million on closed channels.

For smaller publishers like Johnny Harris and India’s The Deshbhakt (The Patriot), YouTube and Patreon have become the go-to platforms for building tight-knit communities around the attention economy. They combine subscriber support, ads, and merch sales to foster direct connections. It’s more than just funding: they ask their audience for story feedback, explore what topics they care about, and even dive into who they are and why they’re engaged. With closed platforms gaining traction, Meta is also eyeing the trend and may introduce paid channels for exclusive creator content. 

Where publishing goes next in 2025 and beyond 

“Dynamic, immersive content tied to social stories is the future of native advertising,” Tanya says when talking about publisher opportunities in 2025. It will make the user experience smoother and less distracting. “Innovative ad tech will repurpose social media posts into native ads that will naturally integrate within publishers' platforms.” 

These formats won’t just fit in naturally; they will also keep users around longer, increase dwell time, and strengthen their connection with the brand. Tone down the overwhelming ads, and there’s a good chance users will drift back to traditional publishing.

Savina, on the other hand, believes programmatic environments for monetisation will be a clear win for publishers. “This route offers access to valuable demand, incremental revenues, a transparent chain, and even gives publishers the opportunity to white label proven technology.” 

By adjusting ad prices in real-time based on user demand, programmatic advertising delivers higher fill rates and improved yield management through multiple demand sources. Even better? Publishers can now cash in on their audience data without third-party cookies, earning higher CPMs for verified segments.