DETROIT (WXYZ) — The joint operating agreement between the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News will end at the end of the year, both papers announced on Monday.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
The JOA was established in 1989. It allowed both papers to run their business operations, including advertising and marketing, jointly through the Detroit Media Partnership.
Despite the JOA, both newsrooms remained separate and competitive for those 36 years.
Watch: Extended interview with Gary Miles, editor and publisher of The Detroit News:
“There’s tremendous confusion all the time about what’s our relationship with the Free Press, what is the JOA, what’s the partnership, aren’t they the same? We’ve never been the same, but it really allows us to say no, we’re absolutely, completely separate," said Gary Miles, editor and publisher of The Detroit News.
MSU journalism professor Joe Grimm worked at the Free Press at the time the agreement was established in 1989. He says it was made at a time when print journalism was struggling, and was necessary to keep the two conglomerates afloat. But it was still strange to be in any sort of partnership with your biggest competitor.
"I remember distinctly in 1989 when they announced they were going to apply for a joint operating agreement because from the day I walked in the door at the Free Press, I knew I was in a war, a competitive war with The Detroit News," Grimm said.
Hear from Joe Grimm, a Michigan State University journalism professor and former Free Press reporter, in the video below
"It will be interesting to see what happens when that competition becomes actual," Grimm continued. "It'll be interesting to see what these newspapers become, because they're going to have to change."
Gannett, which owns the Detroit Free Press, issued the following statement regarding the announcement:
“The joint operating agreement between the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News is set to expire at the end of this year, and the partnership will not be renewed. The Detroit Free Press will continue to deliver essential news and content for our valued audiences and provide the best marketing solutions for our clients.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, the paper will still offer a print edition seven days a week and maintain www.freep.com.
The Detroit News reports that this move will allow the paper to work closely with its sister papers, including The Oakland Press, the Macomb Daily and others.
“This really allows us to bring the power of the newsrooms together," Miles said.
Grimm said another thing he will look out for is the future of the Sunday paper.
"The Sunday paper goes with the Free Press. Will the Detroit News start a Sunday paper? We used to have two Sunday papers in Detroit," Grimm said.
Exactly how the two papers will differentiate themselves will be made more clear over time.
The Detroit Free Press was founded in 1831, and The Detroit News was founded in 1873.
