New York Times, I commend you for the progress you’ve made adapting to the digital world. You’re finally grasping the potential of interactive storytelling and online journalism, incorporating rich media into your stories and harnessing the power of the information age. Every day, it seems, there is a new feature on the Times homepage: the Global Edition, the Times Skimmer, “Faces of the Dead.” Bravo. You’re innovating and experimenting and doing a pretty great job.
Now, there is one issue that needs to be addressed. We all understand that you need to monetize -- and that you need to monetize not only to save your business but also to save high-quality journalism. But, please, stop with the moving and flashing ads. We can tolerate the display and banner ads as we tolerate our in-laws -- they are annoying but necessary, and we love you. The pushdown ads and it obnoxious kindred, however, are crossing the line. They make us resent the advertisers and make us mad at you. Your readers don’t want to be tricked into clicking on an ad because it wiggled its way down to the headline and they don’t want to get an epileptic seizure from reading the news. Please stop. You’re making us feel used and disrespected.
I, for one, would gladly pay an annual subscription fee not to endure such torture. I pay to store my photos on Flickr. I pay for iPhone apps. I pay for magazine subscriptions even though I can read the content online for free. I donate to NPR. I pay to be a member of Zipcar so that I can pay them to rent a car. Why wouldn’t I pay a fee to maintain one of the few strongholds of intellectualism in this country and to save the journalistic reporting that is essential to democracy … and to stop those awful, obnoxious ads?
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