Rivals Sharing Stories Online

An American state’s eight biggest newspapers are to begin sharing some of their online news articles.

Cyberjournalist reports that the titles have formed the Ohio News Organization (OHNO), a system by which they agree to use each other’s stories on their websites.

Each afternoon the editorial teams will upload relevant stories onto a shared screen and will then select which ones they would like to include on their own sites.

The readers’ representative at one of the participating newspapers has asserted that the agreement does not spell the end to competition between the titles, but aims to address changes within the industry.

“We almost always break our stories online now as soon as they happen, so they’re not exactly a secret from the other newspapers anyway,” said Ted Diadium from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

He added: “So why not give readers all over Ohio the benefit of the best work from each corner of the state?”

And Diadium explained that the system will cut out the middle man - news wire services - so the newspapers will share directly with each other and improve speed of service.

“In today’s world, breaking news is measured in minutes, not days.

“It’s important that we provide our readers with the best news report we can, as soon as we can, on our Website and in the best and most current newspaper possible each day.”

He concluded that the new agreement “doesn’t mean we’re not competing”.

“The difference now is that when we get to a good story first, not only our readers get to see it, but so do readers of the Dispatch and the other papers.”

Among the other newspapers taking part in OHNO are the Columbus Dispatch, the Toledo Blade, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Akron Beacon Journal.