'Chicago Tribune' Offers Pope CD-ROM as Subscriber Benefit

By: Graham Webster The Chicago Tribune has published a CD-ROM chronicling the life of Pope John Paul II, featuring interactive narratives and an archive of the Tribune and others' photography and video.

The CD-ROM, titled "Be Not Afraid: The Epic Papacy of John Paul II," is available free (plus $3 for shipping) to home delivery subscribers who register for the Trib's Subscriber Advantage program, a rewards program for Tribune home-delivery subscribers. Non-subscribers can buy the CD for $9.95 plus shipping, or they can join Subscriber Advantage as online-only members for $29.95 per year and get the CD free.

"To capture the significance and spirit of the pope, we knew we would have to develop a groundbreaking method of storytelling that would allow our readers to experience the pope's live and learn about him through a truly unique, multimedia experience," James O'Shea, the Tribune's managing editor, said in a press release Wednesday.

The Trib is also selling a hardcover coffee-table book on the pope, which includes the CD. More information is at www.chicagotribune.com/ctp.