Los Angeles Times ran a special advertising section on Thursday. The section looked like editorial and the faux news said Universal Studios had been partially destroyed.
Some readers were less than impressed.
“I was frightened as I started to read about Universal Studios. When I realized it was a hoax, I was furious. How could you be so irresponsible?” said Joan Richmond of Claremont.
It’s not just everyday readers that were upset. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called on the Times to stop selling advertising sections designed to resemble news sections, saying that the ads hurt the paper’s credibility.
But Los Angeles Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein stood by the advertising supplement, saying such ads provide the revenues to help fund the paper’s global reporting efforts.
