Digital Marketing

In a matter of weeks, the only perceived economic bright spot for American voters – gas prices – has gone from not-so-bad to not-so-good, finds Ipsos’ tracking team.

The trial will focus on allegations that Bollore provided discounted communications services via Havas to two African country presidential contenders (both won) in exchange for contracts to run shipping port concessions.

Radio is the most trusted medium, with 85% of Americans finding it trustworthy or very much so, Radio Ink reports based on Katz Radio Group’s 2026 Media Trust Study. It is followed by newspapers (77%), television (73%), podcasts (70%), magazines (70%) and social media (49%).   

Traffic is plummeting for seemingly resilient publications, including Digital Trends (97%) and The Verge (-85%). But traffic decline doesn’t necessarily mean business decline, Fast Company writes. The Verge, an early questioner of AI’s impact on content, is pursuing a four-point strategy that includes a paywall. So while AI may be seen as a traffic destroyer, it is also an audience qualifier. 

There are lawsuits from eight state governments with antitrust concerns, as well as legal filings from Newsmax, DirecTV and the Communications Workers of America, among other lawsuits.

People who linger longer with chatbots reported higher loneliness, less interaction with actual humans and more signs of emotional dependence.

A report from SponsorUnited says that in 2025, women’s sports leagues including the WNBA, NWSL, WTA, and LPGA had a combined 5,372 sponsorship deals — three-and-a-half times the growth rate of men’s sports leagues and sports programming.

Fox’s plan to tee up a three-part, six-hour Bible-based miniseries could be seen as an experiment aimed at determining if there is an audience for religious storytelling in prime time.

Layoffs in the entertainment industry are continuing this year after an avalanche of job cuts in 2025, Deadline reports. Among the more recent ones are a 3% staff reduction at William Morris Endeavor announced the day after St. Patrick’s Day and layoffs at Axios, Lionsgate and Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios. 

Costco has introduced what it calls personalized “digital end caps” in an upgrade to Costco Velocity, its retail media network, Supermarket News reports. The platform, which is powered by Moloco’s commerce media technology, uses machine learning trained on purchase behavior to serve shoppers with product ideas on the Costco.com site. It is the first new ad product