Tribune Promotes 'Los Cubs' Nationwide

If you happen to be a Spanish speaker living in South Florida, you might find yourself wondering why you're reading a regular feature in your local newspaper, El Sentinel, called "Know Your Cubs."

The Tribune's new weekly feature Conoce a Tus Cubs is not only appearing as editorial content in Hoy, the Tribune-owned Spanish daily in Chicago, and simultaneously as promotional content at the Cubs' Spanish website, it's also appearing in Tribune-owned newspapers and websites from sea to shining sea. Click the images to the right to see Conoces a Tus Cubs in El Sentinel of South Florida and at the homepage shared by the Hoy newspapers in Los Angeles and New York. (Tribune sold Hoy Nueva York yesterday, so expect that newspaper to excuse itself from this sleazy affair when it changes hands).

This should erase any doubts anyone has ever had about the Tribune's willingness to exploit its editorial resources to promote its financial interests. The Cubs are for sale. A higher profile among Latino fans nationwide certainly won't hurt the price.

Hoy Chicago Editor Alejandro Escalona has not returned a message we left him, but reporter Jose Luis Sanchez told us that Hoy is working to have a similar feature for the White Sox. Sanchez did not respond when we asked him when work on the Sox series would actually begun. If it ever does, will the Tribune promote the White Sox in New York, Los Angeles, and South Florida? We're looking forward to seeing that.

Some of you may be wondering, why shouldn't the Tribune be able to use editorial space to promote a baseball team it owns? Here's why:

"Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived, remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility, disclose unavoidable conflicts, deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.." -- the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics