Long before collaboration was a common buzzword in business, five New York City newspapers partnered in 1846 to share information about the Mexican-American War. One editor realized there was great overlap and wasted resources with everyone trying to cover the conflict on their own, so he offered a joint partnership that carried news across the Gulf of Mexico, then via Pony Express and mail coach, before being transmitted over telegraph wire to the outlets. Today, 179 years later, that same practice occurs, but obviously via more sophisticated methods — and is known as the Associated Press.
The AP’s throwback lesson reminded me once again that history does repeat itself. I just finished a project about strengthening local journalism, and one of the recurring themes was to partner with others to create a “news hub” that deploys people to gather news and share it with multiple outlets. It may even help to have one consistent source of facts rather than each medium spinning the story their way.
While it’s easier today to do your own thing with digital tools instead of the arduous Pony Express, partnering is still a good option. Sharing resources, whether in journalism or other ventures, is good for economics and the environment, and often results in improved work products created from diverse perspectives. If others are doing the same thing, why not work together on the inputs to improve everyone’s outputs?
