But the write-offs essentially reflect the fact that the companies paid too much for their acquisitions, based on overly optimistic expectations that the whole would be greater than the sum of the parts.

I think they're missing the point on advertising when they call it a "poor climate." The reality, at least in some media, is that the concept and practice of advertising have fundamentally changed. The notion is losing favor that customers will accept advertising in exchange for a "free" product. Given the choice, many customers will opt to pay for ad-free products. And if content providers don't have an ad-free offer, then going forward the content provider won't be able to reach those customers. The reality for advertisers is that those customers will become increasingly inaccessible to them.