• Chicago Sun-Times, Tuesday, January 24, 2012 3:55 PM

Two news items about Chicago newspapers: First, Feb. 26 the Chicago Tribune will debut Printers Row, a 24-page Sunday book section available for an extra $99 to yearly subscribers -- with a charge of $2.99 for single copies on Amazon.

In a praise-worthy example of objectivity, the Tribune itself reports this as a business story, and includes a critical quote from an analyst "skeptical that the Printers Row subscriber base could reach critical mass, particularly in light of an abundance of free online book sites": "I think $99 per year is a pretty rich price point for something like that."

Second, the Chicago Sun-Times announced it will no longer endorse political candidates, partly to reassure readers of its "commitment to nonpartisanship." One "school of thought... often expressed by readers — is that candidate endorsements, more so than all other views on an editorial page, promote the perception of a hidden bias by a newspaper, from Page One to the sports pages," writes Publisher John Barron

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