Detroit Free Press, Detroit News to end Joint Operating Agreement after 36 years

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Photo art combined with an original picture taken by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

FOX 2 - The Joint Operating Agreement between Detroit's two daily newspapers will be allowed to dissolve at the beginning of 2026, it was announced Monday.

The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News combined operations on Nov. 27, 1989 and began in 1990 although each functioned independently editorially and in news coverage. The JOA came about out of necessity in sharing resources.

The backstory:

The JOA allowed the papers to save money by combining areas including advertising, printing presses, and distribution.

The Free Press’ owner, Gannett, made the announcement on Monday, June 16. 

According to the Free Press, "Gannett shared no specific reasons for the end of the agreement, but said, 'During this transition period, we will be working diligently to adapt our operations.'"

For the JOA to even come about, a lawsuit was filed by the newspapers against the Department of Justice which initially rejected the application. The Free Press had declared itself a failing newspaper which the DOJ took issue with.

After the lawsuit was filed to overturn the decision, federal district court ruled in favor of the News and Free Press. The DOJ appealed pushing the case to the US Supreme Court but with a vacant seat, the vote ended in a 4-4 tie. The ruling from the district court then became the deciding factor in allowing the JOA.

At its root, the JOA was made possible by the Newspaper Preservation Act as long as both publications kept writing staffs and editorial voices separate.

During the timeframe of the JOA, both newspapers have transitioned digitally, reacting to the changing times and technology.

"The technology would have happened anyway, with or without the JOA," said University of Michigan Dearborn communications professor Tim Kiska, a former reporter at both the Free Press and News in a Freep.com article.

On whether he thought the JOA was a success, "it worked in that we still have two newspapers," he said. "But it didn’t delay anything else."

Chief Communications Officer Lark-Marie Anton made the announcement of the JOA ending, in a statement.

"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," he said.

Gannett purchased the News in 1986, but in 2005, bought the Free Press, while the Detroit News is now owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group.

The Freep’s previous owner, Knight Ridder no longer exists; it was sold in 2006 to the McClatchy Co., then got purchased out of bankruptcy in 2020 by a hedge fund, the Free Press reports.

"If you go back and look at newspapers from the 1960s or ‘70s, even the ‘80s, it’s obvious how things have changed," Kiska told the Freep. "The only thing they had to worry about (then) was local TV and radio. There was enough to go around."

The JOA has had different revisions over the years, while early on, a divisive and painful newspaper strike in 1995 led to both papers shedding readership.

Protests, boycotts and replacement workers rocked the readership shortly before the internet revolution set in, changing the newspaper landscape forever.

Many strikers never regained their jobs and only some of the unions involved reached agreements.