The Los Angeles Times will begin selling e-commerce links in selected stories and blog posts — but not in news stories or columns — as “both a reader service and a revenue opportunity for the company,” editor Russ Stanton announced to the newsroom in a memo this morning. The ads disguised as links will be marked in green, to distinguish them from editorial content links, and the articles where they appear will carry disclaimers. Also today, Stanton announced a revised comment policy that will let registered users of Facebook and other social media networks post comments on Times stories (but not blogs) in advance of moderation. Software will try to screen for vulgarities, and complaints by two readers will remove a comment pending review.
Full Story: LAT to add paid links to stories, blogs – LA Observed