A biz reporter’s trip to Spain — funded by 12 different news organizations

Mark Katches of CaliforniaWatch.org writes how Fresno Bee business reporter Tim Sheehan‘s trip to Spain to look at its bullet train system and how it might work in California was funded by 12 different news organizations that will all publish his work this weekend.

Katches writes, “The reporting trip cost about $4,000. At a mid-sized regional newspaper like The Fresno Bee, that type of price tag might have put an international trip out of reach – especially in this economy. But The Bee wasn’t going it alone.

“Twelve news outlets across the state pooled resources to fund the trip – most pitching in about $400. (The smallest organizations with less than 40,000 circulation chipped in half that amount.) Joining The Fresno Bee and California Watch were The Bakersfield Californian, The Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle, U-T San Diego (formerly The San Diego Union-Tribune), The Orange County Register, The Modesto Bee, The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, KQED Public Radio, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo and the Merced Sun-Star

“All of these partners will publish or broadcast Sheehan’s stories starting Jan. 15. California Watch, which is part of the Center for Investigative Reporting, produced a video with footage taken by Sheehan. We also created graphics for the group.

“The trip was a major step forward in a growing collaborative effort by California news organizations to cover high-speed rail in a way that makes good business sense.”

Read more here.