The Essential Global News Network

Associated Press is the leading wire service primarily because it has been in use before the Civil War and it has positioned itself as a wholesaler, not a retailer (although we would find out that they are moving away from such positioning). They use real-time reporting and the latest technology to keep in the forefront of people’s minds. They are used in hundreds of newspapers, news programs, and magazines. AP also remains as a leading wire service because they have more than 1,000 reporters all over the world.

When we arrived at the Washington Bureau of the Associated Press we sat in a boardroom and were shown a video about AP that had been prepared for the White House at the start of the Obama Administration. AP reporters write stories that cover the government, governmental policies and how they impact the world.

The AP representatives focused on something that I found to be interesting. They discussed how the news delivery system was changing rapidly and how the news will not be of any use unless it is presented in a way that people want to receive it. They have trained 110 text reporters and still photographers to shoot video over the past two years. There is a convergence of format. They are trying to train all of the print reporters to do radio and be on camera. They want to be able to cover news in all formats because people want to be able to see raw video footage on the Internet. It does not make sense to interview the same person at separate times when one person could be trained to do all different formats. It allows people to operate more efficiently.

One thing I particularly enjoy is First Amendment rights and intellectual property rights. While the Internet allows information to be shared easily, it also makes it easy to steal. AP has long standing relationships with many news organizations, but its membership is also the largest cost to them (other than salaries). Therefore, in some cases reporters and news organizations stop paying for the use of the material that AP produces and illegally uses it instead. 

This brought about several questions that I did not get a chance to ask. I wanted to know more about how they handle situations when someone uses their material without paying for it. Also, I wanted to know how frequently they found other news organizations using their information as their own.