On the fourth anniversary of its partnership with the New York Times, Texas Tribune editor in chief and CEO Evan Smith announced on the Tribune's blog that the two companies are parting ways. 

"Yesterday afternoon we learned from our pals at the Times that our work together will come to an end, sadly but not entirely unexpectedly, at the conclusion of the calendar year," wrote Smith.

Blaming an increasingly poor economic outlook for many journalistic outlets, Smith cited recent financial issues at the Times as the reason behind the split. "The Trib partnership, while innovative, ambitious and, relatively speaking, cheaply produced, was objectively an expendable line item." 

The Texas Tribune was the last of three regional partnerships the Gray Lady had with news outlets around the country. The other two, San Francisco's The Bay Citizen and the Chicago News Cooperative, have already ended. 

The Trib has created content for the Times every Friday and Sunday since 2010, focusing solely on Texas issues ranging from environmental woes to Wendy Davis' infamous filibuster to Rick Perry's ... everything.