Even as traffic to news websites has surged of late because of the constant demand for updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, publishers are downsizing their staff and cutting pay due to slumping ad revenue.

One problem the sites are facing is that advertisers are working with ad-tech companies that, in trying to prevent those brands from appearing on particular sites or near certain topics, have prevented promotions from running alongside coronavirus-related content. With the crisis having become the dominant global story, one that's poised to continue for at least the coming months, parts of the news industry face an existential threat if advertisers continue to stay away.

Publishers want the rampant blocking on news to stop. Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, the trade body representing CNBC, Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications, wrote an open letter this week urging certain advertising technology companies including Integral Ad Sciences and DoubleVerify to exempt "premium, trusted media properties" from brand safety filters around COVID-19 and related terms.

Now that the virus has touched virtually every facet of society, ad industry experts argue, there should be no stigma for running ads on stories tied to the pandemic.

Ryan Pauley, chief revenue officer at Vox Media, said the type of content getting flagged includes updates on what people need to know about the health crisis and recommendations for how to support small businesses.

"There is no brand suitability problem for advertisers being adjacent to this content, in fact quite the opposite," Pauley said in an email. "The fact that a high percentage of articles are being flagged as brand unsafe across premium news outlets like the New York Times or Vox is a misapplication of generic 'brand safety' concerns.'"