AdTechGod Pod
Ep. 68 News Bias & Free Speech in Ad Tech with Vanessa Otero from Ad Fontes Media
Mar 4, 2025
Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes Media, shares her fascinating journey from patent attorney to media bias expert. She discusses the rise of partisan media and its impact on journalism. Otero highlights how advertisers often block valuable news content due to keyword filtering, advocating for a more nuanced approach. She also challenges the notion that negativity in news should be avoided, suggesting it can enhance audience engagement and ad performance. This thoughtful conversation navigates the intertwining of free speech, advertising, and reliable journalism.
25:42
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Quick takeaways
- Vanessa Otero's shift from patent law to founding AdFontes highlights the need for reliable media in today's fragmented landscape.
- The podcast emphasizes the tension between advertisers' brand safety concerns and the importance of supporting trustworthy journalism in a biased environment.
Deep dives
Career Transition from Law to Ad Tech
The transition from practicing law to founding AdFontes reflects a unique intertwining of backgrounds. Initially working as a patent attorney, the founder leveraged skills from a career in B2B sales and a passion for news and politics to create a media bias chart intended for personal discussion with friends. This chart rapidly gained popularity, leading to the establishment of a company that assesses news reliability and bias. The entrepreneurial mindset fostered by exposure to inventors and the innovation culture in Colorado played a significant role in this shift, fostering confidence to build something new in the ad tech space.
