N.Y. Times sells front-page ads

As advertising revenues continue to tumble in the news business, The New York Times has agreed to display ads on the front page of the newspaper.

The first ad, for CBS, appeared on Jan. 5, at the bottom of the page. According to the company, ads will only appear below the fold. An article in The Times states:

“In the past, The Times has printed an occasional front-page classified ad — two or three lines of text at the bottom of the page. And a few years ago it began selling display ads — which are much larger and can combine images and text — on the front pages of sections inside the paper.

But The Times did not sell displays on the first page of the first section, a move regarded by traditionalists as a commercial incursion into the most important news space in the paper.”

The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today all display front-page ads, but The Washington Post does not.