Chicago Tribune joins list of papers cutting stock listings

Here is the note in this morning’s paper from Jim Kirk, assistant managing editor of business:

“Effective Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Chicago Tribune will make several changes in its reporting on investments.

“A major change will involve stock listings. The Tribune will continue to publish in the Saturday Business section a complete list of the closing prices of New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq stocks and major mutual funds for the week.

“On Tuesday through Friday, the paper will carry only the closing prices of the top stocks, the most active stocks, companies of local interest, the top mutual funds and other information. Much of the granular daily information on stocks will be available on chicagotribune.com, where readers can get a much wider and more complete range of information.

“Accompanying this change will be a new toll-free number from Mountain View, Calif.-based Tellme Networks that will allow readers to get verbal quotes on their stocks by calling the number and speaking the name of the stock into the phone.

“Information on the number and how to access your quotes can be found on Page 6 of today’s Business section.

“In addition, beginning Jan. 18 a new “Your Money” page analyzing developments and trends for a broader range of investments in stocks, bonds, real estate and other financial markets will be published on the back page of the Business section. At that time, the newspaper will also publish a guide detailing how to use the toll-free number and how to look up your stocks on chicagotribune.com.

“The changes were made for numerous reasons, including the more widespread use of the Internet for this type of information and the rise of global trading, a phenomenon that has limited the utility of quotes published in the newspaper. Also, with newsprint costs continuing to escalate, we must find better ways to allocate our resources. The cost savings associated with the changes will enable us to bring you a more complete financial news report.”

The Chicago paper joins the Providence Journal and the Los Angeles Times in cutting stock listings.

Whether a business section adds more news hole for stories when they cut stock listings is up for debate, but in general, most papers are cutting stock listings to cut their newsprint expenses, so it’s not adding anything.

Here’s a Bloomberg News story about the Tribune’s decision.