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Editor: FedEx Series Sponsorship "Treacherous Ground"

The editor of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says his newspaper entered "treacherous ground" when it pondered having Federal Express sponsor a series that is apt to include some reporting on the shipping giant. "I went to our publisher and said we have probably gone half a step more than we should have gone on this project," says Chris Peck. "It is treacherous ground when you start talking about having an advertiser in a section that has them in the reporting."

However, no deal was ever finalized and the idea was canned after opposition from editors. The series, "Memphis and the World," will run on Sundays starting in November and has stories about the city's global links. It comes at a time when the paper has being trying to find new sources of ad money, including sponsorships for specific columns and coverage areas, an approach called "monetizing content" by Peck.

"What we were trying to do is figure out some ways to build revenue and to craft a new kind of business model for journalism," he says. "We need to find ways for good journalism to be supported."

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