From Medill | Local News Initiative: Chicago Becomes a Hotbed for News Collaboration Rather Than Competition
Chicago has long been known as a media battleground. While many cities are down to one daily newspaper — if that — Chicago has two, plus a wealth of niche news outlets. But as investigative resources dwindle in local journalism, Chicago has become a hotbed for collaboration rather than competition, reflecting a national trend.
The goal: Serve the public and have greater impact by teaming up with other newsrooms to produce more fleshed-out, well-rounded reports.
“The benefit, of course, of collaborating with multiple newsrooms is always the fact that you are utilizing two different audiences,” said Arionne Nettles, a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. “With a company like WBEZ, for example, that focuses primarily on radio, if they collaborate with a company like the Chicago Tribune, which is known for being print-focused, then collectively you have two different audiences. And you also bring two different newsroom strengths to a collaboration.”
The Chicago public radio station WBEZ also has collaborated with ProPublica Illinois, NPR, Better Government Association, Chicago Reporter and the Reader.