[Aurornis]

> the people who run news websites mostly don’t know where their ads are coming from, have forgotten how the ad system was installed in the first place, and cannot turn them off if they try

I think this might be selection bias in your customer base. I've had some friends who worked at a local news outlet. The ads on their website were a big deal and they had a full-time position dedicated to managing internet advertising.

[jes5199]

yes perhaps only the big players have this problem

[Aurornis]

Other way around. Only the very small players have this problem.

For big players, ad revenue is a big part of their business. Not a forgotten corner of their website.