The Associated Press will be reexamining its membership structure and plans to reduce assessments by another $9 million, it announced Thursday.
Last fall, AP unveiled a new pricing plan to be implemented in 2009 called Member’s Choice that it claimed would save newspapers $21 million, but 10 percent of members actually saw an increase in rates. The plan offered both a breaking news-only package and a premium service that included enterprise and analysis pieces.
AP Board of Directors voted at its quarterly meeting Thursday in New York for all members to receive the complete premium package at no additional cost while it completes its review. It also voted to approve a moratorium on the rate increases that a minority of newspapers were expected to see in 2009 under the current AP pricing structure.
Several papers initially voiced disapproval with the new plan, and a growing number, including the Tribune Company, recently gave AP the mandatory two-year notice that they wished to cancel their services.
“We fully understand the pain and the challenges of our members, and we have worked to address these concerns,” said Tom Curley, president and CEO of AP. “For two years, we held rates flat, with no increases. This year we rolled out plans to reduce assessments by up to 10 percent, while providing a far greater range of content. Because of the downturn in the global economy, we are at a point where we must now examine more than just what content costs – but also how AP deals with all of its members and customers.”
