AP Looks At Ways To Charge Some For Getting News Earlier

Here's a talking point: can the Associated Press charge certain parties who want exclusive access to its content? How would such a model work? Speaking before the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club on Tuesday, the AP's chief executive Tom Curley mentioned that the international news collective was "considering whether to sell news stories to some online customers exclusively for a certain period, perhaps half an hour." Although Curley didn't outline how these payments would be enacted or upheld, the thought has caused some discussion among members of the news media. Yesterday, our sister blog PRNewser asked publicists how they felt about the possible move. "In a 24/7 news cycle where people can get information instantly, the AP idea seems absurd," said Keith Trivitt, account executive at RLM Public Relations. This is not the first time the AP revealed new methods for protecting their content and monetizing it. Earlier this year, the AP announced the development of a registry that would track and tag the AP's content so the organization can keep track who is using -- or misusing -- its content around the Web. What do you think about these new developments? Are they necessary? And while we're on the topic of the AP, our colleagues at Mobile Content Today interviewed the AP's senior VP of global product development Jane Seagrave about its new pricey AP Stylebook iPhone app. The didn't discuss the latest plan to charge for exclusive content, but it's an interesting peek into some of the things the AP is working on and why. Update: The AP send us this comment on Curley's statements earlier this week: "The Associated Press is exploring numerous opportunities on many fronts to meet the needs and challenges of the digital media era and to support our global journalism. As discussed this week by AP President and CEO Tom Curley in Hong Kong, the AP news registry, announced in April and now in development, will greatly improve and quicken the discovery of authoritative news produced by the AP and its member news organizations and empower them to better serve their readers and customers." Related: AP Creates Registry To Protect Content Online

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AP Looks At Ways To Charge Some For Getting News Earlier

Amanda Ernst

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Amanda Ernst