The Associated Press is in the news as well as reporting it, with a story moving on the wire stating that CNN will cease using material from the AP when its current contract expires June 30th. CNN says it will have a new deal with Reuters, but mainly rely on its own resources.
The AP said it and CNN had not been able to agree on terms of a new agreement to license AP content for use by CNN. So, baring a change in the next few days, CNN will cease having a license to use stories, photos, video and other material from the AP as of July 1st. CNN, though, said it will stop using AP material, effective immediately.
In its own story regarding the split with the AP, CNN reported that Jim Walton, President of CNN Worldwide, sent a memo to staffers stating that the decision to stop using AP material was part of an ongoing strategy to “more fully leverage” CNN’s own global newsgathering investments.
“We will no longer use AP materials or services. The content we offer will be distinctive, compelling and, I am proud to say, our own,” Walton wrote.
CNN has used AP services since the cable channel launched in 1980.
Late Monday afternoon RBR-TVBR received this statement from the AP:
“We have been unable to reach agreement with CNN on its license to use our content.
It is unfortunate that CNN’s viewers will no longer have access to the breaking news and worldwide reporting resources of The Associated Press, the gold standard in journalism. We will continue to provide AP news to other TV networks and tens of thousands of additional broadcast and cable outlets, as well as newspapers, websites and portals around the world.
Paul Colford
AP Director of Media Relations”
RBR-TVBR observation: For some time now CNN has been challenging the AP in its core business, delivering news as a wire service for use by newspapers and websites. To date it has had only limited success. Nevertheless, you can be sure that the AP took notice of the competition.
