If you argue that ad revenue keeps content available then you also have to acknowledge all the garbage that's just click-bait, junking up the 'net even more.
Ads aren't just annoying, they are distracting. I can't read an article when there are flashing banners trying to convince me to refinance my mortgage or look up classmates. I tried to whitelist sites I like but it's impossible; therefore, there are only two choices: I stop using the site completely or I can use the site, block the ads, and refer others to the site because it's a good site, worthy of one's limited time.
You also have to acknowledge "Reading mode" ("Distill Page" on Chrome) feature in browsers that use semantic tags to only display the article--no sidebars, no ads, no fake "top stories"...just the actual content. The Pocket (Read It Later) extension works the same way.
Likewise, "privacy" does the same "damage" to this revenue for two reasons: it disables the ability to target ads and it precludes the analytics that feeds Big Data..that modern-day oracle that says "people who like this also like that" and such.
Personally, I don't care about the "privacy" bit since it isn't personal; therefore, privacy is a misnomer here. They also use it to improve sites and services, so one could argue that those who block it are hindering progress. (I leave that stuff blocked just to prevent them from slowing down my page loads...I've seen far too many "Waiting for response from google-analytics.com" to put up with it.)