Not sure if this is true about the past era.

I don't know much about TV, but in newspapers print and online, where to put ads has at least for a long time included considerations beyond of just what space is available.

At the news site I worked, the CMS had an per article option to white/blacklist ads from categories or disable them entirely. E.g. so to not show an car advertisement boasting their reliability under an article of an car accident where a child has died.

Or in print news papers (especially weekly ones) you often see that it is structured in a way that the realities about the harsh world and negative stories in general are in the first parts and the paper becomes more and more fluffy and feel-good as you turn the pages. It is in those later sections where most big brands want their ads to be placed.

Also, a lot of things that are pretty normal these days would have caused outrage and protests against the publishers not too long ago.

In my view, people were always easily offended/outraged. Just what causes it, and which views have significant followings and voice changes over time.