The Newspaper Equivalent of Iron Chef?

AFP reports that three Japanese newspapers are creating an online alliance that will see their articles published alongside one another in order to maintain the influence of newspapers which is being eroded by the popularity of the Internet, and to encourage younger readers to subscribe to the print editions of the newspapers. “The tie-up involves The Yomiuri Shimbun, which is considered the world’s top-selling newspaper, along with its liberal arch-rival The Asahi Shimbun and the Nikkei business daily,” writes AFP. “The three media giants will also cooperate in distribution in regional areas, especially the Yomiuri and Asahi dailies which respectively sell over 10 million and eight million morning copies each day. The alliance came as the newspaper industry faces difficulties in maintaining Japan’s extensive home delivery system, particularly in remote areas where the population is dwindling.” The story also notes that Japan is one of the few countries in the world where newspaper circulation isn’t going down, and this attributed to the home delivery services.

In describing the new service The Yomiuri Shimbun said the alliance is also expected to “bolster the quality of their articles as readers will be able to scrutinize different accounts of the same stories from three papers. The Web site will serve as a journalistic arena where reporters from the three papers will compete with each other in the full glare of the public eye. Accordingly, reporters will strive to write articles of superior quality and the readers of each paper will come to expect high-quality writing.” During disasters the newspapers will share printing and distribution services to get their newspapers to their readerships.