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When Southwest Airlines announced they were charging for bags, Amtrak posted on X, 鈥淕uess we鈥檙e the only ones doing free baggage now.鈥� The post, followed by more info on Amtrak鈥檚 baggage policy, is an example of what Amtrak senior manager of social media Nicolle Lopez calls its infotainment strategy, designed to educate and entertain at the same time.

The news: CVS is experimenting with a new store format designed around its pharmacy services rather than front-of-store household items and snacks, according to a WSJ report.

First-party data is becoming essential: As third-party cookies disappear, brands like The New York Times, Disney, and McDonald鈥檚 are leveraging direct consumer relationships to improve ad targeting and measurement.

The Washington Post backs out of six-figure 鈥淔ire Elon Musk鈥� ad: The decision raises questions about when鈥攐r if鈥攂rands should weigh in on political issues.

Non-newspapers are being commoditized as well. Though most people support AI training compensation for news publishers, not all publications have secured such payments. Though advertisers say that supporting news organizations with ad dollars is important to many advertisers (see chart), news and media outlets can鈥檛 rest of their laurels and count on that support.

DirecTV wants a piece of the post-Venu streaming world: The pay TV provider is repositioning itself, but pricing could be a hurdle.

Note: Total media ad spending includes digital (desktop/laptop, mobile, and other internet-connected devices), directories, magazines, newspapers, out-of-home, radio, and TV. Digital ad spending includes banner ads and other (static display ads such as Facebook's Feed Ads and X's Promoted Posts).

Readership of newspapers and magazines in India was the highest in the region. Some 72.8% of respondents read newspapers, up 1.2 percentage points YoY. Magazine readership was 64.0%, up 1.4 percentage points YoY. Voice assistant usage in India led the region and trailed only China globally.

China鈥檚 TV viewing rate ranked last globally at No. 49, while radio listening ranked No. 46 and newspaper readership No. 39. City dwellers were more likely to listen to the radio and read newspapers, perhaps due to their commutes, the ease of access to a variety of daily papers, and city-specific stations and publishers. China was the No. 1 country for voice assistant usage by a wide margin.

The newspaper readership rate (66.9%) and the magazine readership rate (61.1%) both led Western Europe, significantly exceeding regional averages of 49.7% and 46.2%, respectively. PC/laptop ownership in Switzerland was the second highest in Western Europe at 80.9%. This surpassed the regional average of 73.3%.

Hong Kong showed a strong preference for print newspapers. Almost half (49.0%) of respondents read newspapers, the highest in the region and significantly above the 36.1% regional average. New Zealand. New Zealand led the region in streaming stick/device ownership. Some 29.5% of respondents owned a streaming stick or device, significantly higher than the regional average of 8.8%.

Some 46.5% of respondents reported reading newspapers, and 45.8% read magazines. Both were flat YoY. Social media adoption in Colombia was nearly universal at 99.5%. This placed Colombia among the highest globally in social media penetration. It was No. 5 globally in social media and messaging consumption at 3:19 daily.

Only newspaper readership was higher in Canada: 38.0% versus 36.2% in the US. Traditional media adoption is where an age divide is particularly noticeable. The oldest age cohort was invariably overindexed in almost each of the traditional formats. Urban dwellers, in general, were more likely to read newspapers, likely due to the availability of several print dailies (e.g., Toronto has three).

The Times' global chief advertising officer Joy Robins explained how its subscription-first model has transformed it 鈥渇rom a newspaper to a thriving, digital-first media company.鈥�. McDonald's head of social media Anne Enright emphasized the importance of both "fireworks" (big moments relevant to all) and "campfires" (intimate, personalized conversations) in its media approach.

New York Times expands ad targeting: The Athletic and other lifestyle properties enable brands to reach engaged audiences, reducing focus on hard news topics.