There’s a bit more nuance to the news that Gannett is dropping The Associated Press — nuance that wasn’t included in Ben Mullin’s initial tweets or in a follow-up story at The Wrap. New York Times media reporters Mullin and Katie Robertson now report that Gannett will use Reuters for international news and that it will continue to use the AP for election data. The McClatchy newspaper chain is cutting back on its use of AP journalism as well.
Credit where it’s due: Sophie Culpepper of Nieman Lab appears to have been the first to report that Gannett will use Reuters.
Three observations:
- The news is not as bad as it first appeared. Reuters is a world-class news organization, and the AP is the gold standard for election returns.
- You have to wonder what this will mean for the AP. Gannett publishes about 200 daily papers, anchored by USA Today. McClatchy, which is owned by a hedge fund, publishes in 30 markets and owns major papers such as The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina; the Fort Worth Star Telegram, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee.
- I find it odd that the initial statement from Gannett, reported by Mullin on Twitter/X, made no mention of Reuters or of Gannett’s continued use of the AP for election data. A bit of damage control perhaps?
Earlier:
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Steve Gosset
Using Reuters helps internationally but not in the U.S. beyond Washington and New York. The AP has bureaus in all 50 states. Gannett will say it can get domestic news from its 200 newspapers. But most of those papers are thinly staffed or not staffed at all. There will be large coverage gaps. Gannett is making a bet readers won’t care or notice. Not there are a lot of readers left. For reasons like this move.
Aaron Read
Just a small note: the AP closed their presence in Rhode Island in late 2023.
Stephen R Nelson
Ok, I’ll say it. Gannett is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. As Mr. Gosset says, the local papers are thinly staffed. It is also important to note that the Metrowest News and Worcester Telegram have almost no State House coverage, and will have none when they drop AP. It appears they have already dropped the State House News Service. State House News would be an easy way to have some State House coverage, but apparently can’t even afford that, so that’s why I am using the tired Titanic cliche. Dan, maybe you can confirm if SHNS has been dropped by Gannet? SHNS is still around, I think.
Dan Kennedy
Stephen, this comes in the midst of a modest hiring spree at Gannett. So who knows what’s going on? As for Statehouse coverage, I know they have an arrangement with Jerry Berger’s program at BU.