print
Pledging Clarity, The Times Plunges Into Native Advertising
by forwardslash

    After months of preparation and scrutiny, “native advertising” is about to arrive at The Times. That practice, much discussed in media circles, has been the subject of a recent Federal Trade Commission public workshop under the appropriate name, “Blurred Lines.”

    The idea behind native advertising, according to some practitioners, at least, is to appeal to readers (or “users” of digital media) by making advertising look and seem as much like editorial content as possible.

    That confusion, however, is what The Times intends to avoid through labeling, design differences and disclaimers that will make it clear just what you’re looking at. The publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., told Times staff members in an email Thursday morning, “We will ensure that there is never a doubt in anyone’s mind about what is Times journalism and what is advertising.”