Can media companies ever claw back advertising revenue from big tech?

My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Digital advertising has long been shaped by a David-versus-Goliath dynamic, with publishers struggling to compete against tech platforms that control better data, more powerful ad tools, and vastly larger pools of advertiser demand. That raises a few big questions: Why have publishers struggled to close that gap despite the promise of programmatic advertising? What advantages do platforms like Google and Meta have that the open web still lacks? And as AI takes on a larger role in ad buying, could it help level the playing field — or further entrench the dominance of the largest platforms? Rick Erwin, CEO of Adstra and a longtime ad tech executive, has spent decades working at the center of these shifts. In a recent interview, he explained why tech platforms have built such a durable advantage over publishers, how advertisers decide who sees their ads, and why he believes AI could fundamentally change how ad campaigns are planned and executed.