BevLog

I was struck by a story in "The Washington Post" on Sunday called "Death of a Salesman. Of lots and lots of them, actually" by James Ledbetter - which was first published in "Slate." Ledbetter starts out referring to Arthur Miller's 1949 play.

But Ledbetter brings it up to date - "the biggest culprit in killing off sales jobs is right in front of you: the Internet." He writes more about "how sales - and its close cousin, advertising - were at the heart of the cultural changes of 20th century America."

Having been an advertising copywriter on Madison Avenue, I am very aware of changing times and I've been thinking about "Death of English and Spelling."

Last Sunday, an ad for Capital One bank wrapped around "The Washington Post" newspaper. It covered half the front page and all of the back. The headline was "Donovan May Be New in Town" and featured a photo of Washington Redskins' new quarterback Donovan McNabb with D.C. landmark George Washington Monument in the background. Inside the ad continued "But He Has No Problem Finding His Capital One Bank." That front page ad was a first for the "Post."

Some other major newspapers feeling the pressure of falling revenues and circulation have already sold out and feature front page "display ads." Further evidence that the once solid firewall between editorial and advertising continues to weaken.

McNabb DID make front page news in the "Business" section of the Sunday "Post" - "The McNabb Brand" story listed the Redskins' newest corporate partner, Capital One Bank.

In the "old days" of advertising, demographics were based on age, income and location. Now we're seeing new data like sunshine, robbery and commute time as they relate to stress levels.

The uncertain economic trends are changing the way people look at money from spending, saving and earning. Check out the big picture across the country.

The sale sounds eerily similar to "The Washington Post's" sale of "Newsweek" for $1 plus debt to Sidney Harmon, businessman, on August 2. In contrast, "The Washington Times" (TWT) stayed in the family with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon (News World Media Development, a Unification Church entity) regaining control from his son. A print copy of TWT costs $1.

Moon's son Preston had made massive staff cuts but to no avail. Rumors flew as to why Preston's brother, Justin cut funding last year to the TWT from the church sources.