Washington Post sells ad on sports section front

The Washington Post published an advertisement at the bottom of the Sports section front on Sunday and Monday, the first time in decades the newspaper has given over part of the front page of a daily news section to advertising.

The appearance of a Comcast SportsNet ad that spanned the width of the section's front, is another sign of tough times in the newspaper industry, as papers look for new revenue to help offset declining circulation and advertising.

"We in the newsroom feel like the space on the front of sections has traditionally been sacred space for us, so it's with some reluctance that we make it available to advertisers," said Philip Bennett, the paper's managing editor. "But we've seen what these ads look like and we're comfortable with them."

There were no plans to sell ads on the front page of The Post, Bennett said. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today sell front-page display ads. The New York Times sells ads in small type at the bottom of its front page.

The Post, which has sold ads on its weekly Real Estate and Health section fronts, plans to accept such ads for its Home, Business, Sports and Travel sections, said Katharine Weymouth, The Post's vice president for newspaper advertising. She would not reveal how much Comcast paid for the ad, but said section-front advertisers pay a premium over standard ad rates.

Front-page advertising was a mainstay of American newspapers during the industry's first few centuries. It was not until the 20th century that Page One, and later individual section fronts, became sacrosanct, news-only domains at many large newspapers, and later smaller newspapers.