The Associated Press announced last week that Tribune Co., the owner of such media giants as The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, is going to suspend the use of AP stories this week, as a trial run for a possible long-term financial decision. It signifies yet another major recent event corroborating rumors that print journalism is succumbing to new millennial media, and another development deepening the question of what the world may look like without traditional news. In this barren market for printed news, it seems fruitless for one news organization to disassociate itself from another just to help itself, when, if the AP were to disappear, it would prove to be a serious blow to the entire industry.
Putting the idea to test for a week is a good decision on behalf of Tribune Co. It seems unlikely that major newspapers could do without the AP, and if the AP is put on the spot this way, the move may serve as a warning. Both the Tribune papers and the AP will get a chance to see how either can perform without the other, and readers will be able to see for themselves the effects of the shift. In the end, the panacea for the newspaper syndrome will be quality. If the industry can cut corners but maintain top-notch coverage from local all the way to international stages, Tribune Co.’s move may be a wise one. Perhaps this week will tell, but perhaps the effects will only surface in the long run.
But coverage may suffer, and along with it, financial strain may worsen. Without AP services, Tribune Co.’s papers will have to send out their own reporters to cover far-away news, or they’ll have to resort to more remote techniques of reporting, thus having an impact on the quality of their stories. The AP was created in the hopes of uniting newspapers and creating a standard for quality meant to maintain credibility, uniformity and depth of coverage in an efficient way. It has existed for as long as it has because it was thought to be indispensable, and now the Tribune papers are revisiting that, questioning the hopes of making wiser financial decisions. But as they cut monetary costs, they would do well to weigh in the costs of quality to their stories. Because if they can’t pick up where the AP leaves off, and readership suffers as material falls behind, nothing will be saved. Only time will tell. . .
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