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It seemed inevitable — just a matter of when.
On Monday, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press announced that the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between the two publications will cease to exist at the end of the year. For the first time in 36 years, both will go their separate ways.
“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,” said Gannett Chief Communications Officer Lark-Marie Anton in a statement, according to the Free Press. “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.”
Even after the JOA took effect in 1989, the newsrooms continued to operate independently from one another, but the business side — including advertising, publishing, and distribution — has been combined in a partnership to save money.
People in the Detroit Free Press newsroom were stunned and concerned about the future of the paper.
Before the agreement, both papers competed fiercely, often trying to undercut each other on advertising rates. Both were willing to lose money to stay in business or to put the other one out of business.
While the newsrooms remained editorially independent, there were far more reporters on both sides back then, and the competition for scoops was even more intense.
Free Press columnist Neal Rubin writes that the dissolution of the partnership comes at a time when the industry is "far different than the one that existed when last they were independent businesses."
The Detroit News reports that the move will allow it to operate closer with its sister papers in Detroit’s suburbs, including The Oakland Press, the (Royal Oak) Daily Tribune, the Macomb Daily, the (Southgate) News-Herald, and others.
“Together, we’re uniquely positioned to provide coverage of Metro Detroit like no single news organization can,” said Gary Miles, editor and publisher of The News. “That’s good for readers and advertisers as well.”
“The partnership did what it was intended to do — it preserved two great and distinct media voices during a time of great upheaval in our industry,” Miles said. “We’re excited to return to a landscape in which we operate completely independently for readers and our many partners, producing more of the outstanding journalism they need and expect.”
The separation could be good news for advertisers, who may benefit from more competition for their dollars.
But it could also spell uncertainty for the future when it comes to Detroit having two major newspapers. Scores of publications around the country have folded in the many years since the JOA was first formed. It's unclear if both publications will rely more on resources from the chains they are owned by to sell advertising and cover other business transactions and expenditures.
In 1989, when the JOA took effect, Knight Ridder owned the Free Press and Gannett owned the Detroit News. In 2005, Gannett sold The News to the MediaNews Group and bought the Free Press from Knight Ridder.
Lou Mleczko, former administrative officer and president of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, which represents both publications, says he's very worried about the future of the two papers.
"Even if somehow the Detroit News limps along with the MediaNews Group, that doesn't mean the Free press is going to thrive."
He also expressed skepiticism about MediaNews Group's commitment to The News.
"The Detroit News today is so diminished and the current owner, MediaNews, is not a friend of journalism," Mleczko said. "Let's be clear about that. They are bottom feeders bleeding whatever money they can get out of a property before they move on."
After the JOA, in 1995, unions at both publications went on strike, and after 19 months, the unions agreed to return to work and continue negotiating a contract. A number of employees were fired for picket-line activities and the circulations were cut in about half as a result of customers cancelling subscriptions, often in support of the strikers. The papers also lost lots of money, likely hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mleczko blames the JOA for the strike, saying Gannett, which had more influence in the joint-agreement than Knight Ridder, the then-owner of the Freep, was pushing to break the unions and make more money.
He said the strike damaged both publications, adding that management "totally misunderstood the market. It blew up in their faces."
Bryan Gruley, a former Detroit News and Wall Street Journal reporter, who authored a book on the JOA in 1993 titled "Paper Losses," tells Deadline Detroit, "I'm a I'm a little surprised it took this long."
He's concerned one of the publications will fail, saying it's likely the two papers will have to compete more fiercely for advertising and subscriptions, resulting in discounted rates, which will likely create more losses.
"You can't lose your way to profitability," he said.
"I still stand by what I thought way back; they would have been better off to kill one of the papers and devote revenue and profits to run one great journalism organization."
Eric Lawrence, president of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, tells Deadline Detroit:
"The JOA appears to have demonstrated its value. We can't really speak to the company's decisions not to continue the JOA. We hope despite their decision to not renew the agreement that they will continue to be invested in Detroit by maintaining robust newsrooms at both The News and the Detroit Free Press going forward."
Lawrence pointed out that the Freep just reached a two-year contract with the newsroom, but The News has yet to reach a contract with its staff.
"We believe the best way MediaNews Group can demonstrate its commitment to sustaining The Detroit News as a crucial part of the Detroit media landscape going forward is to reach a fair agreement with Guild members at The News that respects their hard work and rewards their contributions."
Detroit Free Press investigative columnist M.L. Elrick posted on X:
"If you thought journalism is for gutless, pencil-necked geeks, you’re only half-right: There are no faint hearts left in this business. Detroit has been blessed with two great newspapers for more than 150 years.
"I pray that never changes…"
