WEDNESDAY'S LINKS: DOJ Clears KR Sale, 'NY Times' Selling Front Biz Page Ads, 'NY Times' Workhorse Reporter

By: E&P Staff In today's edition, Philadelphia's newspapers' staffs finally meet their news owners, the New York Times will sell ads on the front page of its business section, and Times reporter Sewell Chan racks up an astounding number of bylines over the past year.


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Inquirer Buyers Meet and Tour Paper's Offices
Investors in Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C. met for the first time yesterday and toured the Broad Street offices of The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and philly.com, which they plan to acquire after the scheduled June 27 sale of the newspapers' current owner, Knight Ridder Inc., to The McClatchy Co.


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'NY Times' Will Sell Ads on Front of Business Section
New York Times: The New York Times plans to sell advertisements on the front of its Business Day section starting in two weeks, Bill Keller, the paper's executive editor, said yesterday. The ads are expected to sell at a premium rate because of the prominent showcase the front of the section affords. They will appear in a strip along the bottom of the page.


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'NY Times' Reporter Racks Up 422 Bylines in One Year
New York Observer: Sewell Chan has 422 reporting credits in the past 12 months. On average, if you pick up a copy of The New York Times, Mr. Chan?s name will appear in it 1.15 times. Since he debuted in The Times in November 2004?with a contributor?s credit on a story about the lowering of terror-threat levels?Mr. Chan, now 28 years old, has recorded more than 600 credits. He has covered Hurricane Katrina, the transit strike, the Lake George boating disaster and the fine print of the municipal budget. ?He?s a terrific reporter,? said former metro editor Susan Edgerley, who hired Mr. Chan away from The Washington Post. ?He?s hugely energetic. He?s curious, smart. He loves coming to work every day. He?s a joy to have in the newsroom.?


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Cubs Buy a Hit for Tribune
Los Angeles Times: The Chicago Cubs may be turning in a dismal on-field performance this year, but as a financial entity, it is still one of the most valuable franchises in pro sports. That could be important if the Cubs' owner, Tribune Co., remains under shareholder pressure to sell off corporate assets or there is a wholesale breakup of the media conglomerate.


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MySpace Luring Advertisers in With 'Safe' Content
Wall Street Journal: To draw in advertisers, MySpace has quietly begun building an array of new sections, highlighted on the front page, that deal with subjects ranging from books and movies to games, comedy and horoscopes. The areas, which contain articles written by editors and links to related blogs and groups elsewhere on MySpace, are meant to be "safe" for advertisers that want to appear on the site but don't want to be associated with unsavory material.


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Media Spending Reportedly to Reach $1.8 Trillion in 2010
Reuters: Global entertainment spending will reach $1.8 trillion in 2010, fueled by the spread of broadband and wireless technology, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report released on Tuesday. Consumer spending on entertainment through online and wireless channels will more than triple to $67 billion by 2010 from $19 billion in 2005 , the report, "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2006-2010," said.


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'NY Times' Sees Hope in Real Estate Investments
New York Post: As the New York Times continues to struggle amid weak advertising demand, business is looking up in a surprising corner: real estate. The Gray Lady's much-maligned splurge on a new Midtown headquarters is proving a winning bet, the Times' two top execs boasted yesterday at a conference sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America.


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Is the NSA Spying on U.S. Internet Traffic?
Salon: Two former AT&T employees say the telecom giant has maintained a secret, highly secure room in St. Louis since 2002. Intelligence experts say it bears the earmarks of a National Security Agency operation.


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Justice Department Clears Knight Ridder Sale to McClatchy
San Jose Mercury News: The Justice Department has cleared McClatchy to buy Knight Ridder, after McClatchy agreed to sign a guarantee that it will sell the St. Paul Pioneer Press, according to people familiar with the process. The Justice Department was concerned about McClatchy's purchase of Knight Ridder because the company would own two papers in the Twin Cities -- its own Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Knight Ridder's St. Paul Pioneer Press.