Journalism Partnerships: A New Era of Interest

A new report from the Pew Research Center's Journalism Project emphasizes a recurring theme of their journalism research over the last two years: newsroom collaborations, meaning news providers teaming up in new ways.

What these collaborations mean for the public -- at least in theory -- is broader and deeper news coverage, more easily accessed or discovered. What they mean for news organizations is -- depending on one’s place at the table -- a more diverse mix of content to offer, broader reach and more scalable reporting.

A few of the major takeaways from the report include:
1) Economics were and still are the driver for these partnerships
2) Paradoxically, often little if any money changes hands
3) Things can easily go wrong
4) Imaginative ad hoc partnering may be the next wave
5) Oddly, though digital disruption and competition is the change agent, digital partnering may be secondary
6) Quality counts; quality plus engagement is even better.