dallas newspapers

Real estate agents are resentful of the money they spend at local newspapers trying to please sellers. Yahoo!, one of the Internet's leading search sites, has just struck a deal with 150 newspapers across the U.S.

According to Peter Zollman, publisher of Classified Intelligence Report, a consulting newsletter for the classified advertising industry, the deal has the "potential to change the economics of the newspaper industry in the U.S. and globally."

So where do real estate classifieds fit in? They don't, at least not yet. The newspapers are going to concentrate on recruiting first by kicking off the consortium on Yahoo!'s HotJobs site where both Yahoo! and the newspapers have agreed to cooperate on "local search, contextual advertising and other content and ad relationships as well," writes Zollman.

Here's the story. Yahoo! and seven newspaper groups announced that for the first time, newspapers are working closely with a major dot-com that they don't own. So far Classified Ventures, an online partnership of newspapers has failed to set the real estate listings world on fire, despite being owned by Belo Corporation, Gannett Company, The McClatchy Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company. The company's listing site is called HomeScape, which also has content from 150 newspaper partners across the U.S. and showcases listings online.

However, the listings aren't robust or specific to search fields. When requesting townhomes in Dallas between $350,000 and $500,00, nearly 500 properties popped up. Some of the homes were in Dallas County, but not the city of Dallas, and others were single-family homes, not townhomes. It did get the price range right, however.

The company also owns HomeGain, Apartments.com and Cars.com, among other properties.

The problem for newspapers is that there are simply better places to find listings if you're a consumer -- Realtor.com, for example, where there are many more listings, more artfully presented.

But give the newspapers a break. They're trying. And they're agreeing to a rare thing -- revenue sharing. In other words, it's in both the papers' and Yahoo!'s interest to make this deal work.

MediaNewsGroup, Hearst Newspapers, Belo, Cox Newspapers, Lee Enterprises, Scripps and Journal Register Co. will have 176 newspapers participating in the Yahoo! deal -- from large market leaders like the San Francisco Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News, to small local rags. More papers are expected to join.

Zollman analyzes that this is a big win for both Yahoo! and the papers. Yahoo! has been put in the shade by Google, and the papers have been criticized for "lack of focus and direction" and failure to cope with interactive media, which is critical to online housing listings with consumer interest in multiple photos, virtual tours, mapping, home valuations and much more. He points out that at Media News Group, online "yields less than 10 percent of revenue but already generates 20 percent of profits."

That's something for real estate listing and brand advertisers to think about. The Yahoo! deal may allow the Internet giant to come from behind CareerBuilder and Monster.com in classified job searches, so the jury's still out what may happen when the deals progress to include other areas of listings including real estate listings.

Says Zollman, "Integration with HotJobs is expected to begin almost immediately. The broader initiatives are supposed to kick in starting in Q1 of 2007; we expect that if they're successful, both sides will be finding new ways to work together well into 2008 and beyond."
MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USA TODAY and Tribune Media Services (TMS) today announced plans to distribute a new weekly edition of USA TODAY outside the United States.


USA TODAY will produce the eight-page, English-language, broadsheet section and TMS, the content-licensing unit of Tribune Company, will syndicate it to publishers abroad for use as a supplement to their daily newspapers.


The first issue of the new publication will be delivered to client newspapers on Thursday, October 18. Participating publishers will be supplied with electronic files of each week's edition, and they will print the product on their own presses. Among the charter customers for the new supplement are publishers in Israel, Armenia, Mexico, Argentina and Ecuador.


Content for use in the new publication will be drawn from daily editions of USA TODAY published during the previous five days. Rather than recapping the news of the week, the new publication will feature the enterprise articles, trend stories, news analyses and profiles for which USA TODAY is best known.


"We're pleased to be able to bring USA TODAY's reporting to new markets and an expanded readership. TMS is the ideal partner to help us build audience and extend our reach," said Ken Paulson, editor and senior vice-president for news for USA TODAY.


"This is a natural extension of the longstanding relationship between USA TODAY and TMS," said David D. Williams, president and CEO of Tribune Media Services. "For many years, we have syndicated stories and images from the newspaper to publishers throughout the world."


"This new initiative," Williams continued, "will provide foreign publishers with a way to address the information needs of expatriates and others in their markets seeking an American perspective on world affairs."


TMS began syndicating content from USA TODAY to publishers outside the U.S. in 1992.


Following the launch of the new weekly version of the newspaper, USA TODAY will continue distribution of the daily international edition of the newspaper through newsstands and hotels in select markets around the world.


USA TODAY, the nation's top-selling newspaper, celebrated its 25th anniversary on September 15, 2007. It is published via satellite at 35 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. . The USA TODAY brand also includes: USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site that is updated 24 hours per day; USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of college and professional football and baseball; USA TODAY Mobile, offering up-to-the minute news and information on a variety of mobile platforms and devices; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.


Tribune Media Services (TMS) is a leading provider of information and entertainment products for print, electronic and on-air media in the U.S. and abroad. It distributes TV and movie listings and related editorial content under the TMS and Zap2it brands; syndicates comics, editorial cartoons, feature articles and opinion columns; creates and distributes a variety of online information products; licenses editorial content from national periodicals; and manages national advertising networks. TMS also markets news, features, information graphics and multimedia content to media clients around the world through the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, Glens Falls, N.Y., Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee, Amsterdam, London and Hong Kong, TMS is a subsidiary of Tribune Company . For more information about TMS and its products and services, DeSoto resident Darren L. Reagan, who had filed a lawsuit against the city of DeSoto and its police department, has been named in a 31-count indictment related to a bribery and extortion scheme involving affordable housing developments in the Dallas area.

DeSoto TODAY

The story you are reading was originally published in DeSoto TODAY.

Be sure to check out the TODAY Newspapers Online for more in-depth community news coverage.
Reagan is among 14 current and former public officials, including Dallas City Councilman Don Hill and former Dallas Public Schools administrator DeAngelo Lee and their associates, named in the charges, which were returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas earlier this month and announced by U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.

Reagan, 48, was the chairman and chief executive officer of the Black State Employees Association of Texas ( BSEAT ) and the BSEAT Community Development Corporation (BSEAT CDC). He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion by public officials, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of tax evasion. If convicted on all counts in this indictment, he faces a maximum statutory sentence of 100 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

"The citizens of Dallas are entitled to know that their public servants are making official decisions based upon the best interests of the people they represent and not based upon their own financial interests," Roper said. "This office will protect the integrity of our government institutions and processes by continuing to aggressively investigate and prosecute public corruption wherever it is found."

Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Dallas said, "This investigation required an extraordinary commitment on the part of FBI special agents and professional support staff who were assigned to the case," Casey said. "They deserve the thanks and admiration of the community for their courageous dedication to find the truth and uncover the web of crimes charged in today's indictments. The confidence of the public in the integrity of our governmental operations is protected by the FBI's Public Corruption Program.

The Public Corruption Program is the highest priority among FBI criminal investigations. I encourage the public to come forward to the FBI when they suspect crime and corruption in any branch of their local, state or federal government agencies. Together we can root out the kinds of hidden crimes that are found in the charges announced today."

Erick Martinez, special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation, said it places great emphasis on combating corruption committed by public employees and private industry.

"Conduct like that alleged in the indictment is very disturbing not only because it involves bribery of public officials but also because the alleged conspiracy and fraud included under-reporting federal income taxes and money laundering," Martinez said.

Darren L. Reagan also is charged in a separate, unrelated indictment, with five counts of theft of public money, and if convicted of all those charges, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 50 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.

When asked to provide comment for this story, Reagan dropped off information that included an October 2005 letter to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding a complaint of suspected civil rights and civil liberties abuses, signed by Lee Alcorn.

Reagan held a press conference in July at city hall to bring light to the frustration he felt for what he considered the DeSoto Police Department, and subsequently the city's inaction on two break-ins of his home in the 1100 block of Angie Lane.CHICAGO (AP) - The Blackhawks keep finding ways to rally for wins. They nearly ran out of time trying to come from behind Saturday night.

The Hawks finally scored with 1.5 seconds remaining to tie the game, and then Jason Williams scored a power-play goal 43 seconds into overtime to beat the Dallas Stars 2-1.

Robert Lang deflected in rookie Jonathan Toews' shot with 1.5 seconds left in the third period to tie it at 1, ruining Tobias Stephan's shutout bid in his first NHL game. Lang connected on a 5-on-3 power play, with Hawks goalie Patrick Lalime pulled for an extra attacker.

Toews' shot changed direction after hitting Lang in the upper body.

"We probably scored one that shouldn't have gone in," Lang said. "It was a shot that goes wide, but it hits you and goes in. I'm happy to take any of those."

The Hawks (3-2) have come from behind in each of its wins.

Williams beat Stephan on a high shot from 40 feet out, with Toews cutting across the crease. Stephan was screened on the shot.

Stephan, a 23-year-old Swiss native, is backing up Marty Turco while Mike Smith is out with an arm injury. Stephan stopped 38 shots.

"He (Stephan) made a couple of big saves early on," Toews said. "That gave him confidence.

"Bottom line: When you run into a hot goalie like that, we've got to stick with it. That's what we did tonight."

The Hawks held a 19-14 advantage in shots through two periods, but trailed 1-0 thanks to a power-play goal by Dallas' Brenden Morrow late in the first.

Stephan blocked several screened attempts through opening 40 minutes, but didn't face many rebounds or sustained pressure until the third period, when the Blackhawks outshot the Stars 20-4.

Meanwhile, Lalime made 17 saves in his first start this season.

It looked like Stephan would be able to hang on to his shutout. But a holding penalty to Dallas' Jeff Halpern with 45 seconds left in the third and a hooking call to Mike Modano with 27 second remaining created the 5-on-3 Blackhawks advantage.

"It was really frustrating to be so close, only 1.5 seconds," Stephan said. "It was a tough loss and very disappointing."

Dallas (2-2-2) lost in overtime for the second time in two nights.

"I feel bad for him," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "He played a helluva game. He was just under so much pressure."

Morrow's power-play goal with 6:12 left in the first period seemed like it might be enough for Stephan and the Stars. Morrow knocked in a loose rebound from the crease after Lalime had blocked Niklas Hagman's attempt from the left side of the net.

"We got off to a great start," Morrow said. "We were playing with fire."

Just over six minutes into the third, Stephan made a glove save on Lang's quick shot from the slot. He was sharp during several flurries later in the period, until Lang finally managed to tie it.