New York Times Sells Front Page Display Ads For First Time

NEW YORK — The New York Times, facing falling ad revenue like other newspapers, on Monday became the latest paper to run graphical advertising on its front page.

The Times already has been selling such ads on the front pages of its business and other sections since 2006, and it has run tiny classified text ads on the front of its main section before. Graphical advertising, known as display ads, on the main front can command even greater prices, given the visibility.

"This high-impact placement represents an exciting new opportunity for our advertisers," said Denise Warren, chief advertising officer for The New York Times Media Group.

Although front-page ads might have been unthinkable years ago, today they hardly prompt a blink.

"I don't know how sacrosanct that front page is in a newspaper," said Sree Sreenivasan, a journalism professor at Columbia University. "I don't think in this particular economic climate, (you can) hold on to something for the sake of so-called tradition."

Front-page ads were quite common in the 19th century, but they gradually got banished to inside pages as editors pushed to further separate news items from advertising.

Gannett Co.'s USA Today was one of the first modern U.S. papers to carry front-page advertising, starting in 1999. Such ads now run regularly in News Corp.'s The Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune, which is also owned by The New York Times Co. The Washington Post is among the holdouts.

Most newspapers have seen advertising revenue fall as gains in online readership and revenue have yet to offset losses in print. The declines accelerated last year as the recession depressed spending by consumers and advertisers alike.

Revenue at the Times' news media properties, which include print and online operations at the Times, the Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and other publications, dropped nearly 22 percent in November from the previous year.

CBS Corp. was the Times' debut front-page advertiser. Its rectangular ad is about 2 1/2 inches high and runs across the entire bottom of the front page.

Times spokeswoman Diane McNulty would not disclose prices, other than to say "there is a premium on these ads over what runs inside." Advertisers also must commit to multiple days. How often the Times carries a front-page ad will depend on what it can sell.

The Wall Street Journal now runs a front-page ad daily, with a waiting list for advertisers wishing to run one. Advertisers must commit to one day a week for an entire year and buy ads elsewhere as well.

Advertisers must make a similar commitment at USA Today and can expect to pay nearly twice as much as they would for a comparable ad elsewhere in the paper. A 2-inch color ad in USA Today _ slightly smaller than the CBS ad Monday in the Times _ costs $65,000 most days and $79,600 on Fridays.

Comments

[rmreddicks]

They sold ads for the Iraq war on the front page. They just "called" it journalism.

[joeblow69]

soon the propaganda paper of the left will fade like any one there famous radio shows,lol

[armadillious2002]

We're not stupid and don't need druggie radio hosts to tell us what to believe.

[hortonhearsawho2]

How much for the Go Sox ad.?

[plan9]

Firing Bill Kristol could save money and increase readership.

[mdtriggs]

the quote from columbia journalism professor:
you cant hold on to something for the sake of tradition..
so lets let go of war in gaza
ive been alive since 1982. its been with me every year.
im sick of it. why is everyone such a fckn coward here?
get off the computer and do something

[adam hartung]

Talk about too little too late - running ads on the front page won't save the P&Ls of major newspapers - including the New York Times. People want news on the web, on their phones and are increasingly unwilling to wait on delayed news from a newspaper. Unless the New York Times Company changes its strategy fast, it will soon follow Tribune Company into bankruptcy.

[Goliadkin]

I don't see a problem, except esthetically. I think they should sell ad space at the bottom of every page, so you could just rip off the whole bottom of the paper if you don't want to see the ads. I read it online anyway. Saves paper.

[MIKEinNYC]

The New York Times is America's newspaper of record. Nowadays, we all read it online every now and then. If this is what they need to do to pay the bills then so be it.

[RRonin]

Oh, please! It's a NEWSPAPER not Holy Writ!

[113]

It's a real shame that it's come to this. I wish they didn't have to do this for money. Maybe one day when they are in the green again they can stop front page advertising.

[tony turan]

So what?

[ThomasMc]

The NY Times completely discredited itself when it sold the country into war in Iraq on lies.

[113]

The nytimes is the most respected news organization on the planet and has been for over 150 years. And it will continue to be the gold standard for news for centuries to come.

[silqworm]

Why isn't it condemning Obama for allowing the Israelis to kill the Palestinians with our money and weapons?

[rmreddicks]

What the hell?

[Igglesbee]

I really enjoy the two pop-up ads that obscure reading this article....

[1sparrow]

the movie "blade runner shows" the future of advertising-- you will see it in the first 20 minutes of the movie.

[in4success]

oh come on -- they've been selling the front page for decades...

[rightsize2005]

cunning, lol

[gastoys]

I look forward to New York Times to either going out of business or stop with all the super left agenda.

[lizziekw]

Have you been smoking crack with that guy from CNN? Because the NYT is a corporately owned and operated business. Some of their op-eds are centrist but the paper itself is fairly conservative. It's not as bad as the New York Post but it's hardly super-left by any stretch of the imagination.

[gastoys]

OMG! I had no idea how much kool aid you all were truly drinking. NYT Centric? That's like calling Sean Hannity Centric.

[DelvinMcGee]

you are delusional.

[renaye]

Yeah, can't wait for this America hating rag to go down the tubes along with ABC, NBC, and CBS. Good riddance!! We'll get this country turned around when the sources of lies are gone.

[tony turan]

Me too