Tribune to Launch Chicago Spanish Daily

By: Russ Oates, Associated Press Writer (AP) Tribune Co. plans to change the name of its Spanish-language weekly newspaper and increase its publication to five times a week, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

Exito will be relaunched as a Monday-to-Friday publication beginning Sept. 2 and change its name to Hoy to match the company's sister publication in New York, the Tribune reported.

Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman confirmed that the company would launch Hoy in early September, but he declined to discuss additional details. He would not confirm that Hoy is a relaunch of Exito or that it will be a daily newspaper.

Weitman referred calls to Louis Sito, head of Hispanic media at the Tribune, who did not return phone calls from The Associated Press. Sito told the Tribune that Hoy is launching in early September but he declined to comment further.

Hoy plans to publish 60,000 copies a day with a newsstand price of 25 cents per copy, according to advertisers who have been briefed on the plans, the Tribune reported.

Exito, which is free, now publishes about 120,000 copies per week.

The move to expand the Spanish-language newspaper to five times a week follows recent census data that shows the Chicago-area Hispanic population growing faster than any other major ethnic group.

The Dallas Morning News recently announced that it would begin publishing Al Dia, aimed at the Dallas-Fort Worth-area Hispanic population of more than 1 million, in the fall.

On Thursday Belo Corp., which owns the paper, said the launch would require a net investment of less than $4 million over 18 months.

The move puts Belo in competition with Knight Ridder, the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, which publishes the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Spanish-language La Estrella.

This week, Knight Ridder said it would expand La Estrella from two days a week to five in September -- renaming itself Diario La Estrella, "The Daily Star" -- double its staff and open a Dallas office.