NY Times to run ads on the front of Biz section
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The New York Times will begin selling ads that will appear on the front of its business section, Times’ reporter Katherine Seelye noted in a Wednesday story.
An announcement was made by executive editor Bill Keller in the newsroom on Tuesday.
Seelye wrote, “The ads are expected to sell at a premium rate because of the prominent showcase the front of the section affords. They will appear in a strip along the bottom of the page.
“The change comes as The Times, along with other newspapers, faces an increasingly difficult economic environment. Mr. Keller also said yesterday that the paper was considering cost-saving measures, including shrinking the width of the paper.
“Mr. Keller disclosed the moves during a presentation to newsroom employees, meetings he holds twice a year. His remarks yesterday focused in large part on the paper’s journalistic accomplishments of the last six months.
“The Times already runs ads on the front of The Metro Section on Sundays, and some newspapers, including USA Today, are now selling advertising space on their front pages — a move The Wall Street Journal, for one, has said it is considering.”
Read more here. Personally, I am disturbed by the move. It blurs the line for readers between what is for sale and what is not for sale in the newspaper.
[...] 7. New York Times to sell ads on front of business section. Executive Editor Bill Keller announced the decision in June, could potentially set off a wave of similar decisions at other papers and lessen the news hole for business coverage. The Boston Globe, which is owned by the Times, is said to be considering a similar move. First stock listings get cut, and now this. [...]
[...] Hearst’s Shop Etc. magazine is turning its cover into an ad. That’s a line crossed, but many others have been tickling that line for sometime now. The New York Times is putting ads on the front of its business section and not ruling out ads on its cover. Sometime ago, I noted that AM New York was turning its front page into an ad, using the distribution power they’d built to make more money — which it could do because it is free and didn’t need to use the front page to sell copies. Hearst is likewise sending its adcover to subscribers who’ve already bought the thing. These are desperate moves by publishers dying to eke out more bucks and they are victories for advertisers who always want to get closer to the publishers’ brands. But, of course, the more that advertisers take over those brands, the less those brands stand for. [...]