• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 29, 2025

Detroit is continuing as one of those rare cities with two daily news organizations: The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.  

The papers ended their joint operating agreement on Sunday, and are now independent of each other. The News is published by MediaNews Group, an Alden Global Capital company, and the Free Press by USA Today Co., the former Gannett. 

The News is launching a Sunday print edition on January 18, resuming seven-day print production.

That’s another milestone — a city with two print papers. Both also publish daily online, and the News is doing a makeover for the detroitnews.com website and mobile app, an updated print design and a refreshed eNewspaper. 

The Free Press is also making changes in 2026.  

“In mid-January, the Homestyle section and the News’ opinion section will no longer be available in the Free Press print and e-newspapers,” writes Nicole Avery Nichols, editor and vice president of the Detroit Free Press. “However, starting in February, Free Press subscribers will enjoy an enhanced Sunday news product, which will include more suburban news, new home and garden content, more entertainment, an expanded editorial section and the Free Press’ trademark investigative journalism.  

The joint operating agreement (JOA) signed in 1989, which was legally contested  combined functions like advertising sales, printing and newspaper distribution, although not editorial. 

Last June, USA Today announced that the partnership would not be renewed. The reasons for the breakup are not clear, but observers say the JOA had a positive impact.

The News writes that this was the last major JOA still in existence, and the only one in which both newspapers continued offering daily print editions. 

“To the JOA’s credit, there are two newspapers to this day in metropolitan Detroit,” says Mark Silverman, editor and publisher of The News from 1997 to 2005, according to The News. “So that’s clearly a positive. And both newspapers had very different editorial page positions. That’s a positive for a community.”