A partnership has been forged between a tech company “building the context graph for marketing decisions” and the privately held parent of a unit comprised of 35 broadcast television stations under the leadership of Michael J. Hayes.
The goal is to bring more trust to advertisers in local news’ digital advertising placement opportunities and expose more “brand-safe” news consumption — including websites tied to Hearst’s newspapers — to brand managers and CMOs.
The arrangement between New York-headquartered Hearst and Mobian, which uses advanced AI to analyze media environments and creative together, is designed to give a venerable company with links to such publications as the Albany, N.Y. Times Union — acquired in 1924 — and TV stations including flagship WCVB-5 in Boston more marketing oomph across their respective digital channels.
This is in response to combating growing brand safety concerns in the electronic media space, ranging from AI-powered search leading to traffic erosion to keyword blocking.
Specifically, Mobian will provide Hearst with data it can incorporate into “new, more precise contextual intelligence and updated media-suitability frameworks” across its 35 television digital news properties; and its 30 daily and 50 weekly newspapers.
“Studies consistently underscore that local journalism is among the most trusted content in digital media, and this partnership will highlight Hearst’s dozens of high-quality local-news brands across the country as safe, scalable and high-value environments, reinforcing advertiser confidence,” Hearst said.
For media buyers, Hearst’s newspapers will get a noticeable boost. A recent analysis conducted with Mobian reveals that 38% of impressions from Hearst’s newspapers are misclassified by certain brand safety and suitability measurement tools, limiting buyer access to valuable inventory. The analysis further indicates that correctly identifying brand-safe but previously suppressed content benefits advertisers and publishers alike, noting that advertisers can realize up to a 27% decrease in CPMs driven by reduced bid pressure, while publishers gain access to expanded eligible demand and more stable eCPMs.
Similarly, a Mobian analysis of approximately 2.5 billion Hearst Television impressions from the second half of 2025 indicates more than 97% of impressions ran in safe environments, with over 80% appearing in neutral- or positive-sentiment content.
“Hearst Newspapers serves millions of readers with trusted local reporting every day — across business, culture, science and community-driven coverage, not just breaking news,” said Mike Irenski, Sr. VP of Programmatic Strategy for both Hearst Newspapers and Hearst Television. “Mobian helps us ensure that the advertising ecosystem recognizes the true quality of that work. Correcting false positives in legacy labeling means more of our journalism can be monetized appropriately — while giving advertisers better reach, better efficiency and better outcomes.”
