News University | Today's most popular courses on NewsU, Poynter's e-learning site for journalists. |
| |
Webinars | Our online classroom is just a click away. Learn more. | |
|
|
 
Romenesko
Latest News
Reporting
& Writing
Ethics &
Diversity
Leadership
& Business
Visual
Journalism
Online &
Technology
TV &
Radio
Journalism
Education
|
Article Feedback
View all Romenesko feedback
AP's fees for member papers are high, but...
(Read the Article)
Post Feedback |
Feedback Guidelines |
Report Feedback Abuse
Page 1 of 1
Defining insanity
Posted by
Todd Fitchette
11/9/2009 5:40:48 PM
Einstein once defined insanity as repeating the same mistakes, all the while expecting different results.
Insanity in the newspaper industry mea...
Einstein once defined insanity as repeating the same mistakes, all the while expecting different results.
Insanity in the newspaper industry means cutting costs alone, thinking that somehow readers are going to respond positively to the fact that you have fewer reporters, fewer lights on during the day and are now printing your newspaper on smaller and cheaper paper stock.
Newspapers need to treat their readers with respect instead of contempt. What other for-profit enterprise out there can treat their customers with the same disdain as newspaper editors, publishers and reporters do?
Give readers a product of value that they can't do without on a consistent basis and you'll succeed every time. This will mean for most, if not ALL newspapers, eliminating the Associated Press from their payroll and focusing on local news content. Let folks get their national and international news from television and the Internet… don't worry about that. Focus on local news and how it effects your local readers in their communities. That's something the AP, CNN, Reuters and the others can't and won't do.
I speak from experience. The first several newspapers I worked for did not carry AP or other wire services. We had to generate our own copy and photos. At one paper I even helped deliver the newspaper to the post office and local businesses every Thursday as part of my job. It kept me in the community, accessible to my readers. This newspaper has been in business for well over 100 years and continues to return a healthy profit for its husband-and-wife owners.
goodbye AP
Posted by
mike gormley
11/9/2009 1:12:26 PM
no service is indispensable. if AP thinks that TV stations and newspapers have nowhere to go...well, they are about to learn otherwise. BTW, the...
no service is indispensable. if AP thinks that TV stations and newspapers have nowhere to go...well, they are about to learn otherwise. BTW, the AP is not a "non-partisan clearninghouse." it's reporting is (surprisingly) partisan. I didn't realize just how partisan until the last couple presidential elections.
Editor
Posted by
Frank Keegan
11/9/2009 12:49:01 PM
AP may suffer from vestigial arrogance of monopoly and refusal to adapt, but anyone who thinks they can get gold-standard hard news from all over...
AP may suffer from vestigial arrogance of monopoly and refusal to adapt, but anyone who thinks they can get gold-standard hard news from all over the nation and world any other way is dreaming. Members should be helping AP evolve, though most members suffer from the same problem.
AP's fees are high because...
Posted by
Mark Phillips
11/9/2009 10:50:16 AM
AP's fees are ridiculously high because for years the organization basically had a monopoly.
I can't understand why any local newspaper would...
AP's fees are ridiculously high because for years the organization basically had a monopoly.
I can't understand why any local newspaper would continue to buy their services these days.
I worked for a newspaper chain that maintained an intranet for all papers. (It was an international chain with papers in the U.S.) We simply posted all our stories to the intranet and any editor, anywhere could grab them and use them.
The best part is it was free and we didn't have to pay AP to regurgitate it back to us.
Page 1 of 1
View all Romenesko feedback
|
|
