Or, they could focus on actually doing quality journalism, picking their niche areas of expertise and producing interesting material, rather than trying to win

Or, they could focus on actually doing quality journalism, picking their niche areas of expertise and producing interesting material, rather than trying to win at "most clicks first." Then, importantly, set expectations for reach and profits appropriately and use relevant advertising to their services/topics which also has value, not stupid algorithm/'targeted' advertising. It's not easy, but working to actually build trust and value is far better than joining the race to the bottom.