AP Suspends New Pricing Structure; Goes Back To The Drawing Board

from the let's-revisit dept

It's no secret that the Associated Press is in a bit of trouble. Since it changed its licensing structure and began competing directly with its own members, various newspapers both big and small have notified the organization that they plan to stop participating in the AP and no longer use its content (or submit content from their own papers). It took AP execs long enough, but they've now realized that something needs to change. They've suspended the new pricing structure and have said that they'll review just about everything. That's a good start, but considering the AP's general attitude that it is the sole gatekeeper and gets to unilaterally set the rules, it's going to need a pretty big attitude revamp first. The original Associated Press was designed to help newspapers by sharing resources. These days, its attitude seems more about helping the Associated Press.

In the meantime, if the AP doesn't get its act together, it's not like newspapers can't figure out other options. For example, 32 newspapers are apparently teaming up to share football content via NewsGator. This is the sort of thing that the AP was supposed to be doing before it focused on being a gatekeeper instead of an enabler.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: business models, newspapers
Companies: associated press, newsgator


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Bob, 24 Oct 2008 @ 6:39pm

    The tubes

    I get my news from the tubes now, the paper is for the can.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mark Regan, 24 Oct 2008 @ 6:48pm

    UPI

    Now the industry wishes they had not supported United Press International instead of letting them die. When there is competition, the parties treat each other in a more fair manner.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mark Regan, 24 Oct 2008 @ 6:50pm

    Correction

    Editor: Please delete the word "not" as it is a type. Editor....Editor???? What do you mean I should proofread my own typing before I hit the submit button? Oh, they fired all the editors, and now the writers have to edit their own material? Where is the union, I want to strike for higher wages.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Gunnar, 24 Oct 2008 @ 9:26pm

    My boss is annoyed by this because next year's budget reflects the savings we expected to get from this change at AP.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.