I had lunch last Friday with Daisy Veerasingham, President and CEO of The Associated Press. She is the first non-American to hold the role of this all-important news organization, operating in 100 countries and in all 50 states in the U.S.
The changes in the business model are profound. AP has historically been funded primarily by U.S. newspapers, which now account for only 10 percent of revenue. Key customers include TV stations, digital platforms such as Google, Yahoo and OpenAI, and foreign media. Forty percent of revenue originates outside of the U.S. from broadcasters such as BBC, Al Jazeera, and Channel 18 in India. Now AP is working with influencers on some specific stories and projects.
The AP’s content is now 80 percent visual. The global news organization produced 1.34 million photos, 85,000 news and sports videos and 40,000 hours of live video in 2025. Contrast that to the 344,000 text stories produced by AP reporters. Over four billion people see AP journalism every day.
Veerasingham told me that “AP is a source of truth at scale. We have a foundational level of facts. We want to be the first out with the news, but it must be verified and correct. We must provide a nonpartisan view. We are doing first-hand journalism.”
AP is using AI in the story production process, translating articles into multiple languages, transcribing press conferences. “The story must start and end with a human being,” she noted.
The key editor for PR people is Cara Rubinsky, global business editor, based in London.
AP is going direct to consumers through APNews.com. It is a free service that depends on reader donations and advertising. The site attracted 54 million monthly users and 2.6-billion-page views last year. Veerasingham is coming to the Cannes Festival of Creativity in June to meet with advertisers.
We need to root for the success of AP, a truly independent global news organization devoted to truth and facts in a time of disinformation.
Richard Edelman is CEO.
