• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 5, 2010

The Los Angeles Times is borrowing the idea of the home page takeover from the Web and applying it to the print edition of the newspaper. An eye-catching cover wrap promotes Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The cover wrap features a 2D rendering of the 3D image of the unstable haberdasher's face, superimposed on what appears to be the front page of the newspaper -- but is actually a fake.

The "Alice in Wonderland" promotion is sure to stir some controversy, as the LA Times once again blurs the boundaries between the editorial and advertising realms.

On one hand, the ad is not associated with any on the newspaper's real editorial content, since the actual front page lies beneath. On the other, the fake front page appears authentic enough, with a partly visible headline in the upper right-hand corner reading "Major Afghan Figure Caught" beneath the "Los Angeles Times" banner in Gothic lettering. The intention is clearly to deceive anyone looking at the newspaper -- at least, momentarily -- into thinking that it is real.

Under pressure from the Tribune Co.'s corporate managers, the newpaper has resorted to a number of controversial ad placements and strategies, eliciting criticism from its own newsroom staff on occasion.

Last year, management took heat for allowing an ad resembling an article on the front cover of the newspaper. The ad, for NBC's new LA police drama "Southland," was run over the objections of editor Russ Stanton and a dozen other senior editors. In an interview with TheWrap, LAT executive editor John Arthur called the front-page ad "horrible," "unfortunate" and "a mistake."

The conflict between editorial and business operations at the LAT has been long simmering. In the summer of 2008, the original Los Angeles Times Magazine was closed and replaced by a new publication, with a new editorial staff, entirely under the control of the Los Angeles Times Media Group.

In short, control of the magazine came from the business -- not editorial -- side. For ethical reasons, Stanton requested that the Media Group not call itself the Los Angeles Times Magazine, since it is not under the control of the newspaper's editorial staff.

The new publication was given a slightly different name: L.A. Los Angeles Times Magazine. However, John T. O'Loughlin, the executive vice president and CMO for target media at the LAT Media Group, has referred to the magazine as a "flagship publication" of the newspaper.