Five newspapers have decided to drop the AP over recent rate changes ostensibly designed to save them money, Editor and Publisher reports.
The restructuring offers breaking news content as an a la carte item which alone costs less than the bundle which had included analysis, feature, and enterprise reporting. Now those are extras offered as a separate vertical for an extra fee.
The menu change and some other initiatives will result in lower fees paid by members up to $21 million, AP says in a press release.
But E&P says that five newspapers have dropped the AP entirely since details of the rate changes were conveyed to members last week: The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash*; *The Post Register of Idaho Falls; The Bakersfield Californian; The Yakima Herald-Republic; and Wenatchee World.
The defections are a mere trickle, perhaps, but not the intended outcome of the AP initiative at all -- and something of a daring move on the part of the papers since doing without the AP can put a news outlet at a competitive disadvantage, especially in a small market.
But such bargains are eminently practical in a depressed industry.* Spokesman-Review* editor Steve Smith says the cost saving just doesn't offset the loss of so much content, so he's taking the opportunity to spend his entire AP budget on local staff instead.
The Associated Press isn’t having the best year in their struggle to maintain a healthy relationship with online media. They came under massive attack several months ago from bloggers and the critics in the AP vs Drudge Retort copyright battle.
Now if they can’t come with up numbers to keep their smaller network of papers, they might appreciate a little questionable linkage here and there.
Four More Newspapers Intend To Drop AP Over Rates [Editor & Publisher]
Photo: Flickr/leunix
