"The Post and the Sun have agreed to share the newspapers' day-to-day coverage of certain Maryland news and sports," the papers said in a joint announcement. "In addition, the Post and the Sun may draw on each other's national, international and feature stories that are distributed by the LAT-WP News Service, to which both contribute. The exchanges will allow each paper to take advantage of the other's strengths and expertise in specific subjects around the region and the world."

Some content won't be shared, the papers said.

"As part of this accord, exclusive stories will not usually be shared, nor will coverage of such competitive subjects as Maryland state government and University of Maryland athletics," they said.

In prepared statements, the rival editors had nothing but praise for each other's paper. The sharing starts Jan. 1.