• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 19, 2009

A number of major newspapers are joining a national consortium that will allow them to share sports content beginning this September, according to Editor & Publisher, which first reported the news. At least 49 dailies have joined the alliance, which aims to expand the array of sports coverage available to each newspaper while reducing costs.

Most of the newspapers in the alliance have a circulation of 100,000 or more; some of the bigger members include the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Star Tribune of Minneapolis. Publishers that use the Web-based content system are expected to post just a few paragraphs of any particular story, then link back to the original newspaper's site. The condensed version of each article must also carry the proper bylines and credit.

The sports content-sharing site is modeled on an earlier news-sharing alliance, the Ohio News Organization, created by the Plain Dealer and other Ohio papers in 2008. Both consortia are part of a larger trend: Cash-strapped newspapers are sharing news as a way to pare costs.

In February of this year, five big regional daily newspapers in New York and New Jersey, including The New York Daily News, formed a content-sharing club, the Northeast Consortium, which allows them to borrow stories, photos, and graphics from each other.

In December 2008, The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun struck a deal to share articles and photos beginning in January. The move allows both to expand their coverage, which focuses on Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Also in December, McClatchy Co. said it would share foreign news stories with The Christian Science Monitor. A month before, CNN pitched newspapers on CNN Wire, a low-cost alternative to the AP. Eight Ohio newspapers also formed their own news-sharing service, and Pennsylvania papers are considering a similar move.