News execs discuss ways to cooperate

Executives at ABC and CBS News are talking about sharing equipment and other ways they could work together to cut costs while maintaining editorial independence.

Neither network would talk publicly about their negotiations, reported Thursday in The New York Times. But executives at both networks, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the private meetings, which took place as recently as Wednesday.

Both networks had been involved in similar talks with CNN earlier this year. When those discussions proved fruitless, ABC and CBS turned to each other.

ABC and CBS already share a satellite uplink in Pakistan. Sharing more of the costly equipment used to transmit reports is central to the talks between the two networks, executives said.

There are also discussions about sharing camera crews on assignments, letting both networks use certain file footage and even consolidating office space in bureas. Both networks say there have been no talks about sharing on-air talent, or any other arrangement that would be readily visible to viewers.