LA Times: We Used to Publish Editorial, Now We Publish Ads
Now that one newspaper has done it, they're all going to do it. Just like an agency account director who tells her AE, "Ah, fuck it. Just add another $20K to that quote. They'll never know the difference," the LA Times is getting greedy (or needy) and will now accept ads on the front pages of many of the paper's sections. The paper hasn't completely bent over to advertiser's wishes though - which is the reason Publisher Jeff Johnson is giving to the paper's employees versus the truth: the paper needs more money - and will not yet accept ads on the front page of the paper as some other papers have. That move will take some serious lubrication.
Comments
What's the big deal? Back when they first came out, newspapers used to sell ads on the front page as a matter of course. I suppose they realized that most of their readers just skimmed the front page on a daily basis and didn't neccessarily delve into the editorial content.
Oh wait.
Maybe that's the real problem here: not so much a concern over editorial "integrity" as an acknowledgement of the fact that a lot of readers don't even bother to go past page one.
Mike, you are more or less on track. I glance very quickly at the front page,go to the sports, maybe the business section, and some times the movie sections, if I really want to work on the blood pressure I'll turn to the editorial page. You have about three seconds per page at best to catch my attention with your ad.
Ya, right. You're gonna plop down some coins for a newspaper, or go drag in off the lawn, and then just glance at the front page and not go any farther?
Sorry, research just doesn't support your claim.
If you pay for it you read it.