The Tribune Company’s chain of newspapers will try to see if they can do without the Associated Press news feed next week, as the bankrupt publisher tries to find ways it can manage costs, The Chicago Tribune reported (via mathewi). The Tribune’s trial separation from the AP starts next week, a little over one year after the publisher gave the wire service the required two-year cancellation notification. The experiment is similar to the one taken last year by Newark Star Ledger, which only stopped its AP service for only a single day.

The company isn’t dropping the AP completely next week. Tribune papers will still print AP sports statistics. Also, if there is some essential breaking news it can’t get anywhere else, the company will pick up the relevant AP item. Also, Tribune’s TV stations are not affected by the suspension and will continue to use the AP as they usually do.

To make up for the AP’s absence, Tribune is having its various papers share more articles. In addition, Tribune will run selected stories from multiple other sources, including Reuters, the Washington Post, New York Times, Agence France Presse, Global Post, Bloomberg, McClatchy (NYSE: MNI), and CNN, which started its own wire service last year, though editors were initially underwhelmed by the offering.

A number of papers have used the two-year cancellation window that is a stipulation of AP membership to get more favorable rates. That could be part of Tribune’s move here. But it looks like Tribune really wants to see if its readership notices week without the AP as the company continues to work through its bankruptcy.

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