• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 23, 2012

CNN-owned Zite in April launched a program giving participating publishers their own dedicated sections within its newsreader app. The Daily Beast, Motley Fool and The Huffington Post were among the first outlets to sign on.

Today, Zite announced the expansion of its publisher program with the addition of the Chicago Tribune, Cult of Mac, Entrepreneur, Hearst Magazines Digital Media, the International Business Times, Los Angeles Times, and IDG titles Macworld, PC World and TechHive.

Each specialized section features a publication’s own branding, as well as articles and content tailored to a user’s interests and tastes through Zite’s algorithm. Partners can also run house ads at the end of articles promoting other apps or paid services. The overall idea is to drive higher interaction for brands by providing greater visibility.

The L.A. Times plans to feature local, national, foreign and business news on Zite to help further boost its growing mobile audience. Hearst is launching a new dedicated section for Harper’s Bazaar. No money is changing hands in the publisher arrangements with Zite.

Zite, which debuted on the iPad, last week extended distribution to Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.