The Canberra Times on this particular page defines the difference between advertising and editorial content.
Notice that, as usual, there is a moving ad in the banner. Most sites have these, however some are not recognisable as advertising. The Canberra Times web page on the other hand immediately conveys to the reader that this is an ad.
Advertising here is mainly down the right hand side of the screen, the usual place for ads. However there is also an ad in the area where text goes (just under the article). I would presume that anyone that reads the article will see the ad and look at it long enough to decode it.
Compare this with the Seattle Times and this pieceand we see that American newspapers are far more agressive when it comes to advertising. Again there are those moving ads. But this time they are at the very top of the screen – the place the eye probably looks first. Then we see the banner and immediately underneath that we have another ad before the story has even started. At this point it is interesting to note that the only colour on the page is that from the ads. Maybe this is a conscious decison on a part of the web editor to make the advertising stand out far more.
In the Seattle Times we also see that there are ads within the text. This time they are not at the end of the article but are central and within the text. It would definitely draw the eye while reading and be decoded, and therefore, the ad will work.
Overall the advertising content is definitely different to the editorial content. To a trained eye the difference is immediately apparent. However, most eyes may not be that trained. This is who advertisers are looking to ensnare.
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