A different kind of billboard

The LAT leaps into the digital billboard age starting today with content that’s rotated every eight seconds or so - and that can be updated at any time from the Times' newsroom. Items will be comprised mostly of sports, politics and entertainment stories, as well as promotions for special events like next month's Festival of Books. "You're not likely to see a story about some breaking news that happened in Iraq," John O'Laughlin, senior VP of marketing, told Ad Age. (Iraq? Is he kidding? What would Sam "No News is Foreign News" Zell say?) O'Laughlin said the 10 billboards scattered around town are designed to reach folks who read the paper in print or online once or twice a week.