Tribune follows other newspapers

Internet journalism has extraordinary and obvious benefits over print journalism. To name a few: the news is more quickly received, advertising is easier to place, readers can often rate articles or email their favorite articles to friends, etc. Many are benefiting enormously from this surge in online media, such as internet advertising firms. At the same time, other companies are struggling to maintain their existence in the current operating environment.

One obviously affected industry is the print newspaper business. Many companies in the print business are in the process of transitioning to online media. Every newspaper that I'm aware of has an online version and many of their websites also feature web-only contents such as online video and blogs. But the companies still perceive their print businesses to be valuable assets with much more cash flow to milk before going away.

The AP is reporting that Tribune (NYSE: TRB) is going to begin selling front page advertisements. Ads will now also be shown on the covers of its sports and tempo sections. Although this will most certainly aid the company in reaping more money from the newspaper, the issue of being over-commercialized appears. However, I don't think it will make a significant impact because most other major newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have made the shift.