In 1940, when Tucson's population was fewer than 60,000, the Tucson Citizen and the Arizona Daily Star entered into a joint agency agreement that combined all mechanical and business functions of both newspapers. This JOA was one of the first in the country (Albuquerque’s being the first). Later, more than 20 JOAs were formed to preserve news and editorial competition in local communities.

Under the terms of Tucson’s JOA, a business agency – TNI Partners (or TNI) – was formed to handle all business operations for the Star and the Citizen. The Star and Citizen, maintaining their editorial independence and vigorous competition for the news, shared all production facilities. They also created common business departments. The ownership of the agency was equally shared by the Star and Citizen. 

When the JOA was formed, the two newspapers moved into a common plant at 208 N. Stone Ave., where they remained for 32 years through several remodeling and expansions, until they transferred their operations in 1973 to a new and larger building at 4850 S. Park Ave.

In the 1960's, the owner of the Citizen exercised a clause in the JOA agreement to buy the Star. That purchase was challenged by the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. Moreover, that challenge and a related investigation led the Department to file a lawsuit claiming that the Tucson JOA itself (and by implication all other JOAs across the country) violated federal antitrust law.

A trial was held in the mid 1960's in Tucson, and both the JOA and the acquisition were blocked. The United States Supreme Court upheld that decision several years later.

However, while the litigation was proceeding, newspaper publishers and owners sought relief in Congress, claiming that an adverse decision in Tucson would cause their communities to lose an editorial voice. The lobbying was successful and the Newspaper Preservation Act was signed into law in 1970, effectively overturning the Supreme Court decision and reinstating the Tucson JOA. So, in the legal annals, Tucson Newspapers are quite famous!

The JOA operations remained basically unchanged until 1989 when the partners changed their form of business from a corporation to a general partnership. Thus, the agency became TNI Partners in 1989. The agency today is commonly known as Tucson Newspapers.

The agreement also was modified in a number of ways, but the basic operational structure remained the same with one key exception. The 1989 agreement eliminated a three-person executive committee that ran TNI and created a president for the agency instead of a general manager.

The Arizona Daily Star is owned by Lee Enterprises; Tucson Newspaper is equally owned by Lee and Gannett. On May 15, 2009, the Tucson Citizen was closed, but the partnership continues today.

The present 265,000-square-foot building is constructed on two levels. On the upper level are the Newsroom, Operations departments (Production Services, Press, Packaging Center and Circulation), Information Technology, Health & Strength Center and the Cafeteria. On the lower level are Advertising, Marketing, Finance, Building Maintenance and Human Resources are located. The building, parking areas and grounds cover 19 acres.