Mark,

Yeah, I know there are JOAs in Madison, Wis., and other places as well (at least there used to be; I've not been following closely), and I always thought they were strange. But speaking as a former Press-Citizen newsroom employee, and knowing how rabid the P-C management used to be about competing with the Gazette, I can't help being surprised. I know the current and former P-C folks I've talked to are, too. It was the kind of rivalry where if there was even a whiff of a rumor that someone was applying at the Gazette, there would be drastic repercussions. So it's in that context that I'm shocked, I guess. Of course, the business model for newspapers is much less healthy than it was even when I left the biz, so nothing should be too surprising.

I expect the Register will make liberal use of Andy Hamilton's wrestling stories, so at least their readers won't be totally devoid of intelligent wrestling coverage. The Gazette itself does a decent job, too. We really are lucky in that regard around here.

This form of joint venture between competitors may become more and more common as the flood of red ink rises and the profitable area shrinks.

Another important facet in the decline of the newspaper industry has been the impact of EBay and especially Craiglist dramatically affecting the classified ad revenue. Classified Ads for decades were a HUGE revenue stream for the larger papers and they no longer have that to rely on.