
We recently wrote the optimist’s take on the state of publishing based on what happened in the past year. In the interest of fairness, the following are signs that publishing is going to hell in a hand basket. Hold on tight.
1. This webpage has 90 ad units.
2.This became a ubiquitous ad tactic.
3. This piece got 1.3 million pageviews.
4. This slideshow got almost 400,000 views.
5. This sponsored content.
6. This presentation was viewed 400,000 times.
7. This was an actual headline in a publication that gets 47 million monthly unique visitors.
8. This story actually ran and was “recommended” 25,000 times.
9. This explained the Egyptian revolution.
10. This chart.
11. And this one.
12. This ad placement.
13. This service exists.
14. This is an SEO tactic.
15. This article was untrue but got 1.5 million pageviews.
16. (Bonus) This 125-word listicle.
More in Media

Andre ‘Typical Gamer’ Rebelo hits 1 million followers on Fortnite
As Epic Games looks to establish Fortnite as an alternative to platforms such as Roblox for metaverse-interested brands, seeing an individual creator reach one million followers could help convince more marketers to turn their attention to Fortnite Creative.

The Independent bets big on individual talent-led verticals with the launch of Independent Studio
The U.K.-based digital news publisher has signed YouTube creator Alan Clery as creative director to kick off the launch of Independent Studios, a unit that will produce a new crop of individual talent-led videos, newsletters and podcasts.

Creators are ditching Substack over ideological shift in 2025
The writers who left Substack in early 2025 represent a second wave after an initial burst of Substack creators left the platform in January 2024.