The Associated Press to impose online licensing fees

[Kadie]

The Associated Press to impose online licensing fees

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Associated Press
Posted April 18 2005, 3:39 PM EDT


SAN FRANCISCO -- The Associated Press will begin charging newspapers and broadcasters to post its stories, photos and other content online, a pricing shift that reflects the growing power of the Internet to lure audiences and advertisers from more established media.

Tom Curley, AP president and CEO, announced the change Monday at the annual meeting of the 156-year-old news cooperative.

Most of the 15,000 news outlets that buy AP's news, sports, business and entertainment coverage have been allowed to ``re-purpose'' the same material online at no extra cost since 1995. At that time, graphical Web browsers were just beginning to transform the Internet from an esoteric computer network to a mass medium.

The new pricing policy, effective Jan. 1, begins to shift some of the funding of AP to the growing online market, as technological advances and digital devices are making it ever easier for people to get their news whenever and however they want it.

more...
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-419apfees,0,486442.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines

[ClintonTyree]

1. The death knell of the AP?

If Reuters etc. fail to follow suit, the AP stands to be minimized and forgotten. Not that it would matter in our government controlled disinformation society.

[warrens]

2. I doubt it

AP has so much clout, just for its local coverage and its photography, that online newspapers are not going to dump them for a small royalty fee. They may use slightly less material, but let's face it, the average newspaper has been on a free ride for a long time and a lot of them are making considerable money on their website advertising. AP deserves a cut of the action.

[Toots]

3. Why wouldn't the rest follow suit?

It seems to me like a very lucrative untapped market for them. IMO AP is just the early bird...