Twelve US newspaper companies are preparing to extend a partnership with Yahoo Inc. to share advertising and editorial content. Among them is second-largest publisher McClatchy Co., who last year considered an alliance with Gannett Co. and Tribune Co.

The partnership began last November when seven newspaper companies joined with Yahoo to sell employment ads through Yahoo’s HotJobs.

The newspapers will use advertising service technology developed by Yahoo, allowing large national advertisers like phone companies and airlines to reach multiple markets with a single purchase.

Yahoo will place links to local newspaper websites on prominent pages, like the front pages of its sports and finance sections. In return, the newspaper websites will integrate the Yahoo search engine.

The biggest addition to the deal is McClatchy Co., owner of 31 US dailies. Earlier this year, McClatchy talked to Google and Microsoft as well as Yahoo. One newspaper executive said that McClatchy is “a huge swing vote in the industry” that could lead other companies to partner.

Gannett and Tribune, the largest and third-largest US newspaper companies respectively, are currently absent from the alliance, though last year they planned their own online ad consortium that McClatchy considered joining. This alliance would have created a “one-stop” choice for large US companies looking to advertise nationwide.

Source: Los Angeles Times