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November 17, 2008
AP: What’s Old Is New
I had lunch last Thursday with Mike Oreskes, the US editor for the Associated Press. At a time when AP’s owners, the newspaper industry, are sailing in difficult economic waters, the AP is thriving as a news provider to print, radio and television. “We are a news organization that is becoming increasingly important in this new world,” Oreskes said. Here are a few of Oreskes’ observations:
1) AP is expanding its coverage where “verticalization” is in demand, such as in sports, business, technology, health and retailing.
2) AP is developing reporters as brand names. He offered the example of Sharon Cohen, whose portrait of a National Guard unit on extended tour in Iraq, won several journalism awards. Other reporters of note are Ted Anthony, Martha Mendoza and Dave Espo.
3) There is a great tradition of “old journalism” on fact-checking. “We want to get it first but it is even more important to get it right,” he said.
4) Newspapers account for 25% of AP’s revenue, with the balance from radio, TV and web players such as Yahoo.
5) There is an AP web site but its primary function is corporate reputation management and product/ service marketing.
6) AP is ramping up its investigative reporting. “We have a number of veteran reporters; this is a comparative advantage over Reuters and Bloomberg,” he noted. “We must also be mindful of new competitors such as Politico.com.”
7) AP reporters are increasingly posting their content on multiple platforms, from print to radio to TV. AP does have significant broadcast facilities in New York, Washington and London.
8) There are more than 800 AP reporters and editors in the US alone, Oreskes added. “We have 100 reporters in state capitals around the country, part of our strategy to fill in where local media are cutting back.”
I was fascinated by the origins of the Associated Press. Five New York City based newspapers wanted to cover the Mexican- American War in 1846 but none of them wanted to finance the reporters on their own. So they decided to share the cost of a single reporter, whose task it was to offer non-partisan, even-handed coverage. “This was quite unusual at the time,” Oreskes noted. “Now what each of the papers did with the dispatches from the reporter in the field was to add a point of view.”
Oreskes welcomes further connection with those of us in public relations. He wants us to reconsider the presumption that AP is an NY or Washington enterprise. AP is building the Silicon Valley bureau as the global technology coverage hub while adding to capacity in local markets to satisfy the demand for “hyper-local coverage.”
I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with AP reporters.
Posted by Edelman at November 17, 2008 3:46 PM |
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Comments
Interesting to see that ap is able to profit in this rapidly changing media market. How will newspapers continue to buy content when their advertising and subscriber base rapidly declines?
Posted by: michael layne at November 17, 2008 9:36 PM
I have no comment, just a huge thumbs up for the continued insight offered by your blog. Every post is pushed to my Google reader, and I always enjoy your "conversations" with your readers. Excellent blog, and keep up the great work.
Posted by: Justin at November 18, 2008 8:59 AM
I worked with Michael long ago when he covered Albany for the New York Times. He was a great guy then and still is.
Posted by: harvey Cohen at November 20, 2008 2:08 PM
I appreciate AP's willingness to do a "gut check" on growth strategy. We've seen once reliable news sources choose to grow big by "leaning tabloid," by choosing fast over facts, etc. Despite many great new media avenues, news services still win and lose public credibility based on the same measure they always have - accuracy. AP has a strong brand; it's encouraging to read that Michael not only wants that brand to be cutting-edge but also remain authentic. Thanks for the interesting post, Richard.
Posted by: Michele Nix at November 29, 2008 2:04 PM
Very interesting post (like all of them!) Does AP earn revenue from its news products posted on Yahoo and other Web sites? I would think it would be a substantial and growing revenue source.
Posted by: Paul Vetter at December 15, 2008 1:10 PM