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Why would a newspaper editor agree to link its online viewers to a competitor’s site?

For one, to keep them from going to Google or Yahoo. Additionally, it’s a way to generate more revenue.

This is the latest twist in virtual newsroom management, according to an article in the July 31 New York Times, “Newspapers to use links to rivals on Web sites” (registration required).

According to the article, newspapers such as the Washington Post, The New York Sun, The Daily Oklahoman are working with Inform.com, an online news aggregator, to sift through news sites and blogs and deliver additional content related to other articles already published on these other newspapers sites.

Editors believe that this strategy will allow their readers to dive deeper into stories and related content; in turn, the newspaper can load up ads deeper into the site as viewers’ time on site and page views increase (predicted at a three-fold increase in some cases, according to the article). And that means more ad revenue.

Such deals by newspaper publishers to aggregate news with the likes of an Inform.com are “an indication that newspapers may be reconsidering long-held beliefs about how to compete, and cooperate, with other publishers,” according to the New York Times article.

So as you’re surfing around, don’t be surprised to see links to competing newspaper sites displayed right next to the main content you first came to read. So go ahead, it’s ok to click on that “other” site’s link!