Star Tribune to sell page 1 ads

The following memo of Star Tribune publisher Par Ridder was sent to Jim Romenensko of Poynter Online:

Front page ad this Sunday
by Par Ridder, publisher and CEO

September 7, 2007 - This Sunday at the bottom of the front page of the Star Tribune we will be running a Macy's ad. While this will be a departure from our recent tradition, we will be joining many other newspapers who now allow page-one ads in order to be more responsive to changing marketplace dynamics.

The primary reason for this decision is that we, like the rest of the industry, must offer more creative, innovative solutions for advertisers who have many choices about where to spend their money.

As you know, we have been running ads on section fronts since September 2006 - a policy that has been well received by advertisers and well accepted by readers. And, off and on throughout our 140-year history, we have run front-page ads, so we are not breaking new ground.

We also will be joining several of the nation's largest newspapers that already allow page 1 ads, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the San Francisco Chronicle. Both the Tribune Company and Gannett now have a corporate policy allowing front-page ads.

In adopting this new policy, we are especially mindful of the value of this ad position and will be pricing it accordingly.

We believe this new policy will help considerably in growing our ad revenue, which in turn will support our continued investment in the highest quality journalism.