Washington Post, Baltimore Sun to Share Content

Posted on December 27, 2008

Mediaweek reports that the Washington Post and the Tribune Co. owned Baltimore Sun have agreed to a content sharing and collaboration deal. The content includes local Maryland coverage as well as international stories. The content sharing arrangement begins on January 1st.

"The Post and the Sun have agreed to share the newspapers' day-to-day coverage of certain Maryland news and sports," the papers said in a joint announcement. "In addition, the Post and the Sun may draw on each other's national, international and feature stories that are distributed by the LAT-WP News Service, to which both contribute. The exchanges will allow each paper to take advantage of the other's strengths and expertise in specific subjects around the region and the world."
Some content won't be shared, the papers said.
"As part of this accord, exclusive stories will not usually be shared, nor will coverage of such competitive subjects as Maryland state government and University of Maryland athletics," they said.
In prepared statements, the rival editors had nothing but praise for each other's paper. The sharing starts Jan. 1.

The idea for the rival papers to collaborate on some stories began in October according to a Dow Jones story. See also articles from Reuters, Washington Post and paidContent.