This excerpt is featured in an article originally published by The New York Times.

A stormy sociopolitical climate played to the strengths of seasoned media companies. John Wagner, who handles ad spending for publisher properties for the media agency PHD, said that during the Trump presidency, advertisers had favored venerable publications like The Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. News sites of 21st-century vintage, on the other hand, have to keep proving themselves.

“BuzzFeed has really good offerings,” Mr. Wagner said. But its listicles and quizzes, he added, may eventually fall out of favor. “Consumers are fickle, and they’ll move on to the next thing,” he said.