• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 10, 2009

With newspapers under assault by competition from the Internet and the worst economic downturn in decades, an increasing number are sharing content to cut costs. In the latest round, four big regional daily newspapers in Tennessee began sharing content last Wednesday, according to an internal memo first obtained by Editor & Publisher.

Two of the four newspapers--the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Commercial Appeal of Memphis--are owned by E.W. Scripps; also participating are The Tennessean of Nashville, owned by Gannett, and the independently published Chattanooga Times Free Press.

In his internal memo to staff, Knoxville editor Jack McElroy said the content-sharing arrangement would allow the newspapers to "eliminate duplicate effort and share content of interest throughout the state." He added that the agreement could extend to collaboration for coverage of the 2010 governor's race, including saving costs on polling.

According to the rules set forth by McElroy in his memo, "once any paper publishes content, in print or online, the others are free to use it"--but with different rules for print and online. In print, the "content can be used in its entirety," while online, "a headline and paragraph or two can be used, with the story then linking to the originating paper's Web site."

These provisions highlight the crucial importance of Web traffic and monetization to the future of newspapers, which have struggled with digital strategy.

Although McElroy made no mention of job cuts, in other instances, such content-sharing arrangements have been viewed as preambles to newsroom layoffs. Both Gannett and Scripps have implemented sweeping cutbacks across their regional daily newspapers, and with the economy in shambles, it seems likely there will be more cuts in 2009.

Like other regional dailies, most of the newspapers participating in the Tennessee content-sharing arrangement have seen their circulations decline in recent years, with the exception of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Between September 2007 and September 2008, Sunday circulation at the Commercial Appeal of Memphis fell 8%, from 193,370 to 178,082, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The Knoxville News-Sentinel's Sunday circ fell 5% from 144,865 to 137,843. Sunday circulation at the Nashville Tennessean fell 5.5%, from 222,754 to 210,277.

The Tennessee agreement is the latest in a series of content-sharing deals between regional daily newspapers, which may signal a long-term trend threatening the Associated Press wire service.

Less than a month ago, five newspapers in New York and New Jersey, including The New York Daily News, unveiled a content-sharing club called the Northeast Consortium. Previously, The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun announced a local content-sharing deal in December.

Also, McClatchy Co. is sharing foreign news stories with The Christian Science Monitor. Last year, eight Ohio newspapers formed their own news-sharing service.