Dive Brief: 

• According to Executive VP of Advertising Meredith Kopit Levien, The New York Times is planning to offer branded content units as part of its website redesign in early 2014. 
• Sponsored content is one thing the Times, as well as the Wall Street Journal, has hesitated to jump into, even while most other publishers have embraced the idea. 
• Kopit Levien told AdAge that branded content on the NYT Web site will not follow the trend of mimicking editorial content, and that it will be presented in a way that "will never confuse the reader."

Dive Insight: 

When traditional, respected publications like The New York Times finally give in to a controversial advertising trend, you know the trend is here to stay. The publication has a certain reputation to uphold that will surely be reflected in the way they choose to present branded content. It will be interesting to see what creative solution its team comes up with, and, more importantly, if it works.