Top editor: AP, members can work through disputes

The executive editor of The Associated Press said Tuesday the news cooperative hopes to work through problems with a handful of newspapers who say they may leave the AP as it implements a new pricing plan that changes how papers get daily content.

Kathleen Carroll told a crowd of newspaper editors that cancellation notices from member newspapers are common but not usually public knowledge. She said in most cases, the news service and newspaper are able to work out the disagreement.

"We certainly hope that that would be the case in this next two-year period," Carroll said. "We certainly hope that the basic fundamentals of the economy and the marketplace will firm up enough so that the pressure is off some of the people who own the AP."

Carroll spoke at the Associated Press Managing Editors conference in Las Vegas, where leaders of the world's largest newsgathering organization were meeting with editors to talk about journalism industry issues and the relationship between the AP and its members.

The 1,500 U.S. daily newspapers that own the news service, elect a board of directors and use its content are seeing their service change at a time when the industry is struggling to offset lost print ad revenue, preserve jobs and not sacrifice content.

AP's new pricing plan is centered on offering a core service of national, state and international breaking news, with options for adding other services or purchasing stories individually, instead of providing news feeds defined largely by the volume of news delivered _ large, medium or small. The plan was approved by the board in October.

The AP has said the changes will mean millions of dollars in savings for newspapers.

"Ninety percent of members will see reductions," said John Lumpkin, vice president of U.S. Newspaper Markets for AP. "The 10 percent that won't are obviously not happy about it."

Lumpkin said the handful of newspapers who have given cancellation notices to the AP include the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Bakersfield Californian and the Yakima Herald-Republic in Washington.

Gary Graham, managing editor for the Spokesman-Review, said his newspaper's decision to drop AP services starting Jan. 1 was purely about keeping staffers in its newsroom, not AP's content.

"For us, it boiled down to dollars and cents," Graham said. "Local news is our franchise."

APME is an organization of editors of newspapers served by the AP. Founded in 1846, the AP is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, with 243 bureaus in 97 countries.

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Associated Press Managing Editors: http://www.apme.com

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