Chicago News Cooperative to be led by former editor of Chicago Tribune

Posted by Nestor Bailly on November 24, 2009 at 3:48 PM

The Chicago News Cooperative is a startup news organization serving the local Chicago area as an internet-based nonprofit news service.

There have been many of these popping up these days, but what makes this one interesting, The New York Times reports, is that it is run by the ex-editor of the service's largest competitor, The Chicago Tribune.

James O'Shea worked at the Tribune for a good portion of his career but was pushed out in early '08 over rows on jobs cuts and management issues. The Cooperative is manned by similarly minded people, former Tribune employees and critics.

The Times article chronicles the consistent denials of tensions and antagonism between the organizations, something one would expect and probably do exist when a reporter from one's client isn't around.

"No, I don't have any interest in any of that," said Mr. O'Shea, commenting on the potential for a massive rivalry. "I would be doing this even if I had never worked for them, and I saw a need. We've got to figure out how to do serious journalism and pay for it, and that's what's motivating me."

The Cooperative, like the many other internet/local/nonprofit news services, has been gaining in funding and credibility, and they are attracting well-known journalists - sometimes away from the traditional news sources they compete with.

The CNC already has James Warren, another former Tribune managing editor, as a regular columnist; Ann Marie Lipinski, a former top editor of The Tribune, on its advisory board; and five former Tribune reporters so far.

Mr. Warren and Mr. O'Shea did not leave the Tribune on friendly terms, and the news cooperative began producing a two-page section twice a week for a Chicago edition of The New York Times, which hopes to win over disaffected readers in the region. Thus denials the Tribune and the Cooperative of being at loggerheads with each other are basically moot.

However we must remember that what is really at stake here is quality journalism and a city's public good. A new member of the Cooperative's team, David Greising (another former Tribune writer), summed up the general attitude: "This new work isn't about trying to get even with anybody. It's about creating an alternative way to do good journalism."

In any case, traditional papers still have a huge resource advantage over these upstarts, and could probably benefit from a little competition in the field they've had a monopoly over for the better part of a century.