The 24/7 news cycle time-crunch and money losses makes it difficult to produce well-crafted or in-depth journalism. Niche reporting and media collaborations offer some possible solutions to these problems and, consequently, are beginning to make competition more obsolete, according to a Wednesday ASNE 2010 panel.

"You are going to see more and more partnerships because of the efficiency and effectiveness on both ends," said Editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune Jeff Light.

The panel mentioned a couple of of reasons these partnerships could flourish.

Media partnerships allow for companies to focus on their strengths, making the end-product better and increasing revenue on both sides.

"We do what we're good at, which is reporting, and they do what they're good at, which is production," Voice of San Diego's Andrew Donohue said about his company's partnership with NBC.

But its not just reporting and production skills. Sometimes it's as simple as knowing the issue.

Investigative nonprofit models, for instance, allow for small groups of journalists to focus on in-depth reporting on very specific problems or tips of interest.

Many times daily paper's reporters are assigned to a beat and can cover an investigative piece "if it comes up." However, these nonprofits can spend time picking out prominent issues without worrying about daily product.

Nonprofit media organization are separate from newspapers and can receive outside donations, grants, or even payment for product in order to conduct their research with the depth it deserves.

By working with other news organizations, the audience expands and there can be increased revenue.

It's typical for 8 percent of the adult population, approximately 160,000 people, to view a local newspaper Web site, said Light. To get to 10 percent is difficult.

Just because there are collaborations doesn't mean there won't be any competition. For instance, daily papers or daily news sites can still compete since there's a likelihood they will cover the same news.

But with a down-turn in many newspapers' profits, playing to your strengths and supplementing with specializing news or other multimedia are not out of the question.

"We don't need to be the number two or even number three to be profitable," said Associate Publisher of San Diego News Network Barbara Bry. "There is room for more than one journalistic enterprise to make money."

by Rachel Leven for the University of Maryland

The fun thing about journalism is that it's a hands-on experience. You don't wait to be a journalist, you just are, and the best way to strengthening your skills is to write. The panelists of "You and U: Finding Partners at Local University" know this, and shared their take on how partnerships between universities and local new outlets can be beneficial to both parties.

Why would a local news outlet want to partner with a university?

Students are a source of enthusiastic, raw talent
Students offer a different perspective that can generate new ideas and projects for the paper
Faculty can contribute their expertise to student efforts
The sponsorship is cost effective
Students can devote substantial time to a problem
The paper gets new content through student contributions

Why should universities partner with a local new outlet?

Students can get professional experience

Jody Brannon, News21 National Director, offered one example of how a partnership can work. At Arizona State, sophomore or junior students partner with the Arizon Republic. They enroll in a program for credit and are also paid for working with the paper two days a week.

The students get experience, and the paper gets new content. The students report mostly on breaking-news issues and the traffic generated by this new content accounts for about 10 percent of page views for the Republic, Brannon said.

There are other programs at other universities that serve as examples of successful partnerships between students and local publications. These relationships bridge the gap between student and professional journalists, proving there is a lot the two can learn from each other.

"There are fields where the academy leads the industry," panelist Rich Gordon, association professor at Medill School, Northwestern University, said.

In areas like medicine and science many breakthroughs occur in research labs on university campuses, outside of the professional sphere.

"It's time we apply the same line of thinking to journalism," Gordon said.

- Aleesa Mann