• Newsday, Friday, July 20, 2007 10:45 AM

Many of Tribune Co.'s largest dailies already are already selling -- or soon will sell -- ads on their front pages. The Chicago Tribune is already talking to top clients about the 1.5-inch strip of space along the bottom of Page One, while at the Los Angeles Times, selling similar space is in the planning stage.

In the face of competition from other media and lagging readership, newspapers have little choice but to look for new revenue streams. "The Chicago Tribune is constantly exploring ways to provide value to our customers but also grow revenue," says Trib spokesman Michael Dizon. "One way to accomplish both is to provide section front advertising." But selling the space raises concerns on the separation of advertising from news.

The key is the distinction between ads and news content; if that is clear, there should be no worries, notes Paul Levinson, professor and chairman of Fordham University's communication and media studies department. "There are absolutely no cons and absolutely all pros," he says. "It's not as if newspapers are non-commercial, as if they don't have ads throughout the paper."

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