Warc said in its latest Global Ad Trends report that globally 51% of advertising was going to professionally-produced content, down from 72% in 2019, with brands increasingly favouring global digital platforms like Google and Meta for targeted, scalable advertisements.

For example, Warc said that advertising spend with magazine brands was forecast at $3.7bn in 2025, a 38.6% drop since 2019. 

The report highlights a general shift in advertising spend from professionally-produced content to user generated content and “creator-journalists” that Warc said were willing to operate within digital platform ecosystems.

Traditional media, which invests in journalism and operates under stricter content standards and to tighter regulations, has struggled to compete, the report said, risking a broader decline in civic literacy and weaker defences against disinformation.

Alex Brownsell, head of content at Warc Media, said: “Brands have become increasingly squeamish about hard news content. Keyword blocking hinders the ability of publishers to monetise newsworthy moments, while ad investment is increasingly shifting from professional journalism to ‘creator-journalists’.

“In this Global Ad Trends report we look at where the news media ad dollars are being allocated and what news brands are doing to combat these losses and win back advertisers.”