Chicago Tribune To Co-brand Obits Section With Legacy.com

Posted on February 23, 2001

Legacy.com, a website that provides online access to obituaries, announced that the Chicago Tribune and chicagotribune.com will be providing online access to death notices and all products offered by Legacy.com. In addition, Legacy has secured additional financing through a round of investment led by Tribune Ventures.

By March 1, 2001, death notices published in the Chicago Tribune will be available on chicagotribune.com and within the Legacy.com network. The companies will co-brand the obituary section of chicagotribune.com. Cconsumers will have access to current Chicago Tribune obituary information, as well as access to Legacy.com's products. Other Tribune properties are planning similar partnerships with Legacy.com.

``By strengthening our relationship with Tribune, one of the nation's leading media companies, we feel well-positioned to expand our dominance of the growing online memorial category,'' says Stopher Bartol, chief executive officer of Legacy.com

``This additional investment in Legacy.com supports our strategy of partnering with emerging companies that are compatible with Tribune's core media businesses,'' says Randy Glein, vice president of Tribune Ventures. ``In addition, this content sharing agreement allows Tribune Co. to leverage both print and interactive mediums, initially via Chicago Tribune and chicagotribune.com, to provide a valuable service to consumers honoring the loss of a loved one.''

Legacy.com, based in Evanston, Ill., offers services through funeral homes across the country. In addition to permanent online memorials and guest books, Legacy.com provides funeral service information, including times and directions, and information about charities and florists. The site also links to more than 1,000 obituary sections of newspapers nationwide.