Its more general than that. Media production in general, and the tech press included, seem to be married to Apple as their tech supplier. So when Apple do something it is suddenly new, even though it has been going on for years or even decades in the larger tech sphere.
Never mind that as the western world has been in a slump for nearly a decade, companies has started to reevaluate their spending. And in the process has come to question the impact web ads have.
The whole thing is really being pushed hard by outlets like the verge, and frankly nothing of value would be lost if that site dissapeared
After reading your response it occurs to me that they're streisand effecting themselves. If they'd have just shut up, most people wouldn't even be aware of the adblocking capabilities in iOS 9. Each article they write brings more attention to the thing they're afraid is going to bury them.
They're terrified, they write a bunch of articles, and it spreads around a little. I'd be really interested to see some data over the next few weeks, so we can determine whether their fears were justified.