AP takes aim at Web sites over unlicensed news content
News service plans legal action; chairman says he's 'mad as hell' about thefts of news content
IDG News Service - The Associated Press, one of the world's largest news providers, plans to take legal action against Web portals and other sites that use its content without paying for a license, the organization said Monday.
The announcement comes amid tough times for the news industry, which has been hurt by the loss of advertising revenue to the Internet. The AP also blamed the theft of news content for some of the news industry's misfortune, one reason it will go after Internet sites that fail to pay for licenses.
"We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under misguided legal theories," said Dean Singleton, chairman of the AP, in a speech on Monday.
"We are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more," he added.
Hundreds of newspapers face closure within the next few years, many in the U.S.
The Tribune Co., for example, owner of the newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun and dozens of TV stations, filed for bankruptcy in December. Last month, The McClatchy Co., the third largest media company in the U.S. and owner of The Miami Herald and The Kansas City Star, announced another restructuring plan that will further reduce staff by 1,600 people this year.
Journalists at the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday launched a Web site to save their newspaper.
The AP plans to develop a system to track online content to make sure it's being used legally. It will also set up new search engine pages that point users to "the most authoritative sources of breaking news," it said in a statement.
"AP and its member newspapers and broadcast associate members are the source of most of the news content being created in the world today," said Singleton. "We must be paid fully and fairly."
To help member news organizations through the recession, the AP announced further price reductions for its photos, video and written news content.
AP subscribers will see $30 million in savings in 2009 and another $35 million in savings in 2010 from reductions in fees. The AP has set up new plans for members to choose from, that offer a variety of discounts and packages, including national and local news as well as international events.
In the U.S., the reductions will reduce its revenues from U.S. newspapers by around a third between 2008 and 2010, AP said in a statement.
The AP, a nonprofit news organization, was founded by a group of U.S. newspapers in 1846 to provide news coverage. Today, the AP serves news organizations around the world from 243 bureaus in 97 countries, offering stories, videos and photos of news events.
Changes in subscriber plans as well as revenue losses from U.S. newspapers, will reduce AP revenue from U.S. newspapers to about $135 million in 2010, about 20% of AP's total revenue, and down from $210 million last year.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Digital Transformation: Creating New Business Models Where Digital Meets Physical
- Individuals and businesses alike are embracing the digital revolution. Social networks and digital devices are being used to engage government, businesses and civil...
- Make the Connection: Better Network Connectivity Drives Transformation
- Network connectivity is more than just plumbing. Leading organizations today see high-performance network connectivity as a critical enabler of competitive advantage, and not...
- Virtualizing Government Infrastructure
- All server virtualization solutions are not created equal. The more-with-less agenda for government agencies is tailor-made for server virtualization, which is evolving into...
- Moving Service Management to SaaS
- Today, organizations can enjoy similarly substantial benefi ts by migrating their IT service management functions to a software-as-a-service model. This paper shows how...
- Achieving 360 Degree Network Visibility with Nimsoft
- 360° network visibility is critical for ensuring continuous availability of networks, servers, and applications-anything less could
have costly bottom-line implications.
All Networking White Papers
- Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
- Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
- Unified Communications 101
- What's the best way to implement a unified communications solution for your organization?
- Try the OptiView® XG on your network - FREE
- The OptiView® XG is the first dedicated tablet with automated network and application analysis -- fastest way to root cause. XG raises the...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and... All Networking Webcasts