Ugly USA Today sports cover today [image added]

I have no problem with a discreetly stripped ad at the bottom of a section front -- a 6x3 is good revenue -- but the ad on the front page of today's Sports section in USA Today takes up at least a third of the page. Pretty awful stuff here.

Haven't seen one this big before ... I'm not a regular reader (maybe once a week or so). Ick.

 

Re: Ugly USA Today sports cover today

The St. Louis Globe Democrat sports cover had ad space that large every day in its last year or so of existence.

 

As big as above? Wow ... I pity the readers and the designers.

 

That's just fugly. No one reading that section looks at an ad anyway.

 

Whatever is in the top left corner is way ugler and more vexing than the ad.

 

I remember when ads were first coming back on covers and Gannett told everyone that they would be small and discreet because news was still a priority.

Yeah surrre.

 

That cover is ugly for so many reasons.

 

Is the large trapped white space at the top normal?

 

It is now since they started hanging that stupid ball in the corner with the redesign.

 

Outing alert: 21 is Will Muschamp.

 

She is known to coach Boom.

 

Was this supposed to be posted elsewhere?