Two major U.S. newspaper chains, Gannett and McClatchy, plan to sharply reduce their business relationships with the Associated Press, which supplies reporting and photography to outlets world wide.
Gannett, the biggest newspaper within the United States and publisher of USA Today, said Tuesday that starting Monday it’s going to now not use articles, photos and videos from The AP in its a whole bunch of publications.
“Between USA Today and our incredible network of more than 200 newsrooms, we produce more journalism every day than The AP,” Kristin Roberts, Gannett’s chief content officer, wrote in an organization memo.
Ms. Roberts noted that Gannett will proceed to make use of The AP for election data and its style manual, which provides guidance on journalistic language and practices. She added that Gannett has signed a deal with rival news agency Reuters to offer world news “as we build our capabilities.”
Gannett spokeswoman Lark-Marie Antón said in a press release that the choice “enables us to continue to invest in our newsrooms.”
McClatchy, which the hedge fund Chatham Asset Management bought out of bankruptcy in 2020, told its editors this week that it’s going to stop using a few of AP’s services next month. McClatchy operates about 30 newspapers, including The Miami Herald and The Kansas City Star, in addition to a Washington bureau
In an email Monday, Kathy Vetter, senior vp of reports and audiences for McClatchy, said the AP channel will end on March 29 and that no AP content will probably be allowed after March 31. But she said McClatchy will proceed to operate to make use of AP data on election results.
“With this decision, we will no longer pay millions for content that serves less than 1 percent of our readers,” Ms. Vetter wrote in an email reviewed by The New York Times. “In most cases, we found replacements. However, we are still working on a universal solution for the content of state ‘wires.’
McClatchy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lauren Easton, a spokeswoman for The AP, said discussions with Gannett and McClatchy about their contracts “have been productive and ongoing.”
“We appreciate that these are difficult decisions and we deeply understand the challenges facing the news industry,” Easton said in a press release. “At the same time, it would be a disservice to news consumers across the United States, who will no longer see fact-based journalism on The AP.”
AP, founded in 1846, has reporters in every state and nearly 100 countries. Provides content, including articles, photos and videos, to publications and broadcasters world wide, including The New York Times.
He also plays a key role in U.S. election coverage: Many major news organizations use his election data, and a few wait for the AP to accomplish that call it a race before they announce the winner.
AP used to rely totally on licensing fees collected by newspapers, but now has many other sources of revenue, including a news service, an e-commerce website and software and production services. According to article on its website, fees from U.S. newspapers make up about 10 percent of AP’s revenue.
“The loss of McClatchy and Gannett would not have a material impact on our overall revenues,” Ms. Easton said.
