BigDave - 7:29 am on Sep 6, 2007 (gmt 0)

Does the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal lose its reputation if they run ads?

Actually, they do lose just a little bit. Consumer Reports has a better reputation for car reviews than Car & Driver who is likely to have an ad for the car that they are reviewing on a nearby page. That doesn't mean that Car & Driver is lying to you in their review, just that their review isn't likely to be seen as being quite as reputable. Though Car & Driver is likely to have more information for an enthusiast than Consumer Reports.

You read them all and you assign a value to the sites. It makes a difference, but it isn't a binary "respectable" or "not respectable".