Newspaper finds creative way to bring in ad revenues…
Newspapers have been selling ad space on their front pages for years. Today the embattled, money-losing LA Times takes the practice to a new low by running a “profile” of LAPD cop Ben Sherman’s first day on the force—a typical feel-good colour piece. Problem is, Sherman’s not a real cop or even a real person; he’s a character on NBC’s new show Southland. The faux news story is presented in a black box, in bigger typeface, with the NBC logo and “advertisement” at the top. Will readers even notice? Or will they simply see it as the logical extension of the Jon Stewart fake-news- show programming universe?