Advertisers are getting interested in blogs as a medium: they have already started to advertise on the sites, but some are moving one step beyond…

Gawker Media (the company behind Gawker, Gizmodo and Wonkette) is being paid to blog for Nike. Its new division, Gawker Media Contract Productions, has to design the layout, commentary, links and other features of Art of Speed, a blog showcasing a series of 15 short films on the theme of speed, all commissioned by Nike.

Although Nike did not exercise editorial control beyond contributing the films, bloggers wonder whether bought-and-paid-for content could succeed in the idiosyncratic world of Web logs, where an independent streak is highly valued.

More in The New York Times.