In Alaska, media organizations have increasingly set aside traditional competition in favor of collaboration to address the challenges of covering the state’s vast geography and shrinking newsroom resources. This cooperative approach has intensified ahead of the 2024 midterm elections, where a closely watched Senate race between incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola is unfolding.

Alaska’s expansive size—larger than California, Texas, and Montana combined—and its widely dispersed population present unique hurdles for reporting. Approximately 80 percent of communities are not connected by road, making in-person campaign coverage costly and logistically difficult. Journalists often cannot follow candidates as they travel between remote villages, limiting the depth of direct election reporting.

Amid a decades-long decline in newsroom staffing, many outlets see collaboration as a practical solution. The Anchorage Daily News, for example, has reduced its staff from over 100 reporters to about 25, while The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and the Juneau Empire have seen even sharper cutbacks. The Associated Press now covers Alaska with a single reporter, a fraction of its previous presence. Public media organizations face similar personnel and funding constraints, intensifying the challenge.

In response, Alaskan news organizations have begun sharing content and coordinating coverage. The nonprofit Alaska News Coalition has developed a platform enabling roughly eight newspapers to exchange stories. The Alaska Beacon, part of the State’s Newsroom nonprofit focused on philanthropic support and content sharing, saw its articles republished nearly 3,000 times through August. Editorial leaders say pooling resources reduces redundant work on overlapping stories, allowing for broader and more thorough coverage.

This cooperative spirit has been particularly evident in covering the Senate race. A notable complication is the presence on the ballot of another candidate named Dan Sullivan, which both voters and campaigns find confusing. Journalists have worked together to verify information and clarify details for the electorate. Major Republican figures, including former President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have campaigned in Alaska to support Senator Sullivan, while Peltola has traveled extensively across remote villages to engage voters.

While many journalists embrace cooperation, some express concerns about its limits. Suzanne Downing, a conservative journalist and founder of The Alaska Story, criticizes the prevalence of replicated content across outlets, suggesting it reduces diversity in reporting. Additionally, a recent attempt to organize a series of joint political debates among four news organizations faltered after some audiences objected to partial coverage by one of the outlets.

Candidates’ engagement with the press also varies. Reports indicate that both campaigns are conducting multimillion-dollar operations with limited interaction with local journalists. One public media editor described having to appeal to Peltola directly in public to secure an interview after campaign refusals. Campaign representatives counter that their candidates remain accessible and maintain that the pooling of newsroom resources reflects underlying weaknesses in local journalism.

Despite challenges, Alaska’s media landscape demonstrates innovative responses to the pressures it faces. By sharing content, coordinating reporting, and in some cases licensing stories across outlets, news organizations aim to provide comprehensive coverage of pivotal events, including the critical Senate race, while adapting to the state’s demanding environment and resource limitations.