It’s entirely possible that I’m out of the loop here, but I’ve never seen a front page of a newspaper that consists entirely of an advertisement.  The other day I picked up an Express for the first time in ages and thought, “What am I looking at?  Where are all of the eye catching headlines that they normally sport on the front page?”  Instead I was looking at a full page ad about surfing in Sandbridge, VA: “Live Passionately.  Virginia is for Lovers.”  Oh so that’s what it’s for.

Are times really that tough out there?  If so, does this sort of scheme generate enough ad revenue to keep the WaPo from axing the Express?  If most readers are like me, they’ll quickly turn to the real front page, never visit Virginia.org, and never develop a passionate love for surfing in Virginia.