I don't recall, even long ago, seeing ads on real newspapers that were both front-page and "above the fold". I imagine "above the fold" wasn't related to advertising until the web existed.
The reason "above the fold" was valuable real estate was because whatever was there would be visible in newspaper vending machines, newspaper racks, and the stacks at kiosks.
Newspapers that printed on tabloid-sized paper didn't have that problem, since they were not folded horizontally.
Tabloid newspapers were generally read by the working class and were sized so that they could be read on trains, buses, and communal lunch tables. Broadsheets were read by the bosses who had private offices, individual desks, and space to spread out.
/ Previously worked for two newspaper companies.
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2013/01/21/message-of-the-day-a...
I wasn't refuting the GP. I was adding more information.
They became more common overall as newspapers declined; how prominent they are now, I don't know, because the dead tree edition isn't worth reading anymore.