via Variety:
The front page of Thursday’s Los Angeles Times is expected to include a major feature story on LAPD cop Ben Sherman, chronicling the rookie’s rough first day on the job.
It’s not unlike the kind of personality profiles that frequently grace the newspaper’s “Column One” feature. But Sherman, however, isn’t real – he’s the lead character in NBC’s “Southland,” played by thesp Benjamin McKenzie.
And the story itself isn’t really a story – it’s part of a large, six-column ad that will appear under the fold of the L.A. Times’ front page.
The fake news story – which will run in the first column, much like those regular L.A. Times stories – is in a different typeface and style than the paper’s normal content. It will also be marked as an advertisement.
wow, NBC is staking a lot in Southland, aren’t they?
You missed a tag somewhere, everything is in bold.
If they don’t buy a spot in the online LA Times, I don’t think anyone in the 18-49yr demographic is even going to see this “story”.
Wow…I hope for NBC’s sake that Southland isn’t a TOTAL flop…
Well, they deserve credit for trying, I suppose. I saw the pilot and it was a fairy solid ripoff of The Shield, minus Vic Mackey. I will probably watch it when it starts. It could be a hit.
… because everyone knows that the coveted 18-49 demo goes out and reads newspapers every day en masse.
I see this as a sign of desperation.
Mike, but by whom? NBC or the LA Times?
Mike you’re missing the domino effect.
NBC pays for the LA Times ad. People who read the LA Times see the ad and may or may not be interested.
However the upside to placing the LA Times ads is now Variety and countless others are posting stories about Southlands and how NBC has just taken out this front page ad in the LA Times for it. NBC paid for the LA Times ad, which reaches one section of the audience and then gets free publicity from Variety and others, which reaches another section of the audience and both set off a word of mouth for tonight’s debut.
It’s all about the domino effect.
I know newspapers need money, but that’s kind of pathetic that the LA Times has sunk so low.
It’s not going to matter. Even if the show does well in LA, which it might because of the hometown advantage, it won’t do well in other markets. The rest of the country is tired of LA’s love affair with itself.
ya dave, because I’m sure no other city doesn’t have a love affair with itself. To quote T.O. “I love me some me.”
Robert, you should check this out, lots of backlash from this stunt. LA Times reporters are speaking out against the ad buy.
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090409/los-angeles-times-staff-fake-news-story-embarrassing-and-demoralizing/
“We the journalists of the newsroom strenuously object to the decision to sell an ad, in the form of a phony news story, on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.
The NBC ad may have provided some quick cash, but it has caused incalculable damage to this institution. This action violates a 128-year pact with our readers that the front page is reserved for the most meaningful stories of the day. Placing a fake news article on A-1 makes a mockery of our integrity and our journalistic standards.”