A coalition of 10 news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBCUniversal, has formed a partnership with Virginia Tech to test drones for newsgathering, the companies said Thursday.

The partnership, the companies said in a statement, is "designed to conduct controlled safety testing of a series of real-life scenarios where the news media could use small UAS technology to gather the news." The college is one of six sites designated by the Federal Aviation Administration for testing of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS.

The other members of the coalition are Advance Publications, A.H. Belo, The Associated Press, Gannett, Getty Images, E.W. Scripps Co. and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Unmanned aircraft systems, said Rose Mooney, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech, "can provide this industry a safe, efficient, timely and affordable way to gather and disseminate information and keep journalists out of harm’s way."

Drones have long been coveted by news organizations for their potential to transform newsgathering in dangerous situations, such as natural disasters, and to offer the organizations a vantage point they would not normally get without expensive helicopters or planes.

But, citing safety concerns, the FAA has granted only limited permission for drone flights while it writes suitable regulations.

This week, CNN announced that it had also been cleared to test drones for newsgathering.

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