Seven Ohio papers collaborate on one story

Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 19, 2009 at 4:49 PM

A collection of seven papers in Ohio have collaborated on a single story, to be run in all seven editions on 29 November, reports Editor & Publisher. This will be the first joint reporting project by the group of newspapers.

The group began sharing content early last year after complaints were raised over some of the Associated Press' coverage of local Ohioan news. The seven papers are known as the Ohio News Organization.

The story, which concerns public employee pensions, was lead by the Columbus Dispatch and includes contributions with local data from the Repository in Canton, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Blade of Toledo, the Dayton Daily News, and The Vindicator in Youngtown.

According to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch, Ben Marrison, "They are each contributing examples from around the state. We decided we wanted to do the main part here and crunch the numbers in one place. But we are getting examples from around Ohio."

Each paper will run the main story along with additional local content on the same subject.

Marrison hopes the group will continue to collaborate in the future, saying, "we are always looking for ways to make better use of what we have and what we can do jointly to better the state."

Source: Editor & Publisher