As journalism morphs in the digital age to become more comprehensive than just the written word, newsrooms are looking for more efficient ways to get their stories out across all mediums, fast.

One proposed method is platform journalism, a notion that content is developed centrally, with the presentation later fine-tuned according to whether it is for television, internet, radio or print.

Gazette Communications in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is amongst the latest that has taken this concept, brought it to life and has been 'producing content' since February. Gazette Communications, which owns newspaper The Gazette, local TV station, KCRG and website, Gazette Online, relocated all of its reporters, photographers, and other journalists from these outlets to a new "content room" at the newspaper, reports Editor & Publisher.

Here the 70-person news staff work together to write a story, which then in separate teams is produced appropriately for the medium. No single branch has oversight of the journalists, and each medium must compete for their work.

"There is a pull and push, and I think that is probably healthy," says Becky Lutgen Gardner, senior director of information content, who oversees the content room. "When it comes to breaking news, spot news, it's easy to translate across all of the mediums."

Whilst the "content room" is located within The Gazette newsroom, no one unit has more or less input or sway over the content produced. Neither the newspaper, website nor television station has oversight of the content room, according to Lyle Muller, editor of the newspaper branch of Gazette Communications. "Each product acts as a client of the content room," he says. "The content room has a lot of latitude because we try to set them up to have the expertise to know what is out there to pursue." The approach is so balanced that Muller says he cannot direct coverage, just recommend it: "It is still an experiment."

According to Muller the move has leveled the playing field: "The Web editor has full authority to make sure he has a robust editorial product on the Web, and I have full authority to make sure the Gazette has a robust editorial product in print. No one is the lead dog."

Online editor Jason Kristufek talked of the importance of knowing the audience of each medium in order to make worthwhile "pitches" for content beyond breaking news: "It is a highly competitive issue, we have to strategize how best to get information out. There is a lot of tendency to have a loyalty to print and broadcast."

Not surprisingly, the nature of 'pitching' and competing for content has led to some conflict between the branches. Muller recounted a story on cold and wet weather in the farmland that was posted on the website a day before the newspaper was supposed to run it. But on the other hand, there have been just as many reports where the system has proved to work well. Muller gave another example, involving a story on local food prices dropping. The website put out a request for online input from readers that was later used in the print version.

"I believe the Web has benefited from this," says Lutgen Gardner. "The attention to online is greater. When news breaks, there is an understanding that we are there, covering it live, and blogging it. And then the in-depth article is in the paper."

As many news organizations search for ways to become more cost and time efficient with trimmed budgets and reduced staff, an integrated newsroom seems a viable solution. More and more appear to be contemplating the model with Singapore media company MediaCorpNewsHub late last month launching their own "content room" called the , the first of its kind in Asia. Similarly, in November last year Media General's Tampa news outlets developed launched an 'Interactive Newsroom' amidst a struggle to continue to get its product out following staff cutbacks.

Source: Editor & Publisher