I self-publish and self-host my site's advertising and in my case the ads are actually more relevant. The different is that I target the ads based on the conte

I self-publish and self-host my site's advertising and in my case the ads are actually more relevant. The different is that I target the ads based on the content rather than the reader. In that way I try to treat it like a magazine where the content itself narrows down who will be reading without the need for dertermining them using adtech solutions. No idea if the model would work on a general news site, but it does work and isn't terrible. I can't speak to your point about a brand pressuring me for being critical though since that isn't really the nature of my site and publication.