Leveraging collaborative editions as a growth tool

On April 22, the University of Michigan system’s three student media organizations produced a collaborative tri-campus edition. 

This case study explores how The Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, The Michigan Journal at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and The Michigan Times at the University of Michigan-Flint worked together to produce a 6,000-copy edition distributed across the state, and how your organization can do the same.

Origins of the tri-campus edition

Ramla Ouedraogo stepped into her role as editor-in-chief of The Michigan Times following an initiative by advisors to rebuild the publication after the organization disappeared due to a lack of student interest during the 2023-2024 school year.

Ouedraogo reached out to Edith Pendell, a former elementary school classmate and current Michigan Daily co-editor-in-chief, for advice on running a student media organization. With no prior journalism experience, Ouedraogo said she sought guidance on everything from AP style to team management.

A few months later, Pendell reached out to Ouedraogo with an idea: a first-of-its-kind tri-campus edition between the University of Michigan’s three campuses. Pendell said that her motivation for reaching out to The Michigan Journal and The Michigan Times was to unite the campuses. “I thought it was really important to demonstrate that we are really, at the end of the day, one campus even though we are separate,” Pendell said.

Making the paper

The Michigan Daily’s team took charge of compiling the paper, from layout to coordinating with their printer. The Michigan Journal and The Michigan Times handed in their stories for another round of edits and placement in the paper. The Michigan Journal’s editor-in-chief, Reena Hamad, said she found the edition to be a lighter lift than her normal monthly print editions since she had help from a team of layout editors, section editors, and other editors-in-chief.

“I was doing layout and design on my own, and I was copy editing everything on my own, and also writing contributions. So when Ann Arbor was able to do the design and a lot of the copy editing, and I was just able to funnel that content to them, that was really helpful because I actually had a team just on a different campus,” Hamad said.

Distribution

6000 copies were distributed across the three campuses: 5000 at Ann Arbor, and 500 each at Dearborn and Flint. The front page featured photos from each of the three campuses and stories from each organization. Inside, stories from each of the campuses and heartfelt letters from the editors about the importance of this collaboration. 

Impact

Producing the tri-campus edition not only boosted readership and visibility for the organizations but also boosted morale within their newsrooms.

“People obviously get excited to see that they are physically a part of something. So if they see their name in a paper, they see their article there, that definitely boosts morale. And then seeing something even bigger —that we are part of a tri-campus issue—brought in a significant amount of spirit,” Hamad said.

Advice from the editors

Edith Pendell’s advice (The Michigan Daily): Pendell’s advice was to overcommunicate on expectations and deadlines. 

“Communicate early and often. Set clear deadlines, create a one-pager where all the expectations are laid out, all the deadlines are laid out. Try to be as transparent as possible about costs and space,” said Pendell.

Ramla Ouedraogo‘s advice (The Michigan Times): Ouedraogo encourages other organizations to use collaborative editions to build a network that lasts beyond the single collaboration.

“You actually are building a system, a team, people that you can reach out to when it's not even the tri-campus edition. You can get help. They can reach out to you. You can build more connections with people in media other than just the people in your area. And like if you want this to be your career, this is really good for you as well to expand that, expand your horizon, expand your connection pool.”

Reena Hamad’s advice (The Michigan Journal): Hamad found value in seeing how other organizations operate.

“It was a chance for us to kind of see how each other operated. I think that was a really nice experience. So I think just being open to something like that and sharing in that, not just in the sense of a deliverable.”

Tips to create your own collaborative edition

1. Brainstorm partnership opportunities. Consider reaching out to student media organizations at campuses your university already has relationships with, whether that’s through a statewide university system, an athletic conference, or a sports rivalry.
2. Assign responsibilities based on the relative strengths and size of each organization. For example, if your organization has a strong layout team, handle print proofs. A successful collaboration will leverage the collective strength across all of the organizations to produce the best edition possible.
3. For extra credit, think about how you can expand a collaborative edition beyond just print and onto your other channels, such as social media or multimedia on your website. Use this larger team as a chance to experiment with new audience engagement or business strategies. Just like other special editions, you can use this edition as a low-stakes chance to pilot new ideas and generate excitement in your newsroom.

What’s next

Read our guide about creating impactful special editions to learn more and read the tri-campus edition here.

Need extra support to get started? Reach out to your flytedesk account manager.