Teaming up

Gannett, McClatchy, Tribune - the so-called GMT group - are preparing to offer national advertisers a one-stop shop for online ads on their newspaper websites, reports the Wall Street Journal. The deal hasn't been finalized yet and could fall apart.

Local newspapers have had trouble winning national ads, and the goal of the GMT effort - dubbed "Open Network" - is intended to attract national advertisers like carmakers and phone companies that have a national audience. Each publisher will likely devote 10 percent of its online ad inventory to the network.

Yahoo and the Seven Amigos - a group of seven other newspaper groups, led by Hearst and MediaNews Group - earlier announced plans to build a similar network. But the GMT group is considering technology that won't give control and sensitive information to a potential competitor like Yahoo, and is reportedly holding discussions with Centro LLC, a Chicago-based company that places ads on newspaper sites.

Centro President Shawn Riegsecker is quoted as saying the two publisher camps should ally to compete with the big portals: "If you break this industry apart, you completely devalue the value proposition to the spot advertiser in the national market."