Back in July, we told you about the collaboration being explored between the New York Times and Knight News Challenge winner Spot.us. This morning, the fruits of that collaboration appeared in the pages of the Times, where you can read Lindsay Hoshaw’s reporting on a garbage patch in the Pacific the size of Texas.

In a post at the Spot.us blog, founder David Cohn explains how the partnership came to fruition:

My hat is off to the NY Times. They interfaced with Spot.Us as if they were a lean and mean startup. I spent half a day at the Times talking with various decision makers who agreed to entertain the idea further if we drafted a pitch. Once the pitch was approved all we had to do was make it live and let them know. I am still in awe of that experience. It contrasts with everything I’ve experienced with other larger media organizations and it a testament to why the NY Times is not just the paper of record ‘ but also leading the charge into the digital future.

In the video at the top of this post, you can view Lindsay Hoshaw’s thank you to her Spot.us funders.