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FILE - The Associated Press logo is shown at the entrance to the news organization's office in New York on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Jackson, File)
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Associated Press says buyouts and some layoffs are ahead as it seeks to cut its workforce by 8%

5 Comments
By DAVID BAUDER

The Associated Press said Monday that it would begin offering buyouts and lay off selected employees, part of a plan to reduce the news outlet's staff by about 8% and accelerate a transition to a digital-first organization.

The move is part of what is expected to be a dispiriting end-of-year period in the news industry, which is beset by business woes that go back years. The end of a busy presidential-election cycle was also expected to accelerate reorganization plans.

The AP said those eligible for buyouts were to learn of the offer, which would include severance pay and partial health coverage for 18 months, by the end of Monday. Those whose positions are due to be eliminated would learn about their fates over the next few weeks.

Once considered the world's largest newsgathering organization, the AP no longer makes that claim and does not reveal the size of its staff. As a result, it is impossible to say how many people would be affected. The AP said less than half of the anticipated cuts would involve its news employees, with the bulk happening within the United States.

The News Media Guild said that 121 of its members would be offered buyouts. The AP, without giving an estimate, said there would be fewer job cuts than that among the union members.

For years, news executives have had to make cutbacks because solutions to their business problems have proven elusive, said Gabriel Kahn, who helps run the media, economics and entrepreneurship program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. It has become even tougher in the past couple of years as the work of journalists has become much less visible on social media, due to changes in search algorithms and artificial intelligence, he said.

“They've pulled the plug out of the bathtub and we're watching the water going down the drain,” Kahn said.

The AP, which prides itself on being an unbiased news source, offers news stories, pictures, video, audio and interactive content direct to consumers via the website apnews.com. But the bulk of its business comes from selling its journalism to other news organizations that use it.

Earlier this year, two major news chains, Gannett and McClatchy, said they would stop buying news from AP, in Gannett's case ending a relationship that had lasted more than a century. The AP has diversified its revenue stream in recent years, including accepting philanthropic funding, but is still hurt by the news industry's overall woes.

“We all know this is a time of transformation in the media sector,” Daisy Veerasingham, AP's president and CEO, said in a note to staff members sent early Monday morning. “Our customers — both who they are and what they need from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we've focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path.”

In broad strokes, that means an increased emphasis on visual journalism — photos and video and the digital content that incorporates them into storytelling.

Veerasingham was not available for an interview, an AP spokeswoman said.

AP remains a central part of the news industry's ecosystem, particularly when it comes to U.S. elections. During its election coverage earlier this month, the AP had unprecedented usage of its live video, election data, visuals and interactive products, Veerasingham said.

The AP said it had reached a tentative deal with its union to offer the buyouts, but that is subject to ratification by its members. “Sadly, it is apparently what is needed,” said Vin Cherwoo, president of the News Media Guild. “They've been seeking revenue for awhile and have had difficulty getting it.”

Cherwoo said it's unfortunate what is going on, but that “everyone can see what is going on at other news organizations across the country."

© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

5 Comments
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No sympathy from me, given the poor quality of the biased nonsense AP churns out. If they just stuck to objective reporting of the facts they would probably be in much better shape.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

No sympathy from me, given the poor quality of the biased nonsense AP churns out. If they just stuck to objective reporting of the facts they would probably be in much better shape.

AP is so biased when they report exactly and quote what Trump/MAGA says and does on record!

Fake news!

But the bulk of its business comes from selling its journalism to other news organizations that use it.

So then the MAGA minions can cry that JT is somehow 'leftist' despite all evidence to the contrary.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The AP has very high standards of journalism, but if anyone has specific examples showing otherwise I'm willing to take a look with an open mind.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The AP business model is built solely on accuracy, which is why other media - including TV and radio - rely on it for on-the-ground reporting.

The opposite is Faux News, which uses propaganda to anger its viewers, who then get addicted to rage. Then Faux cites viewership to sell ads tailored for simple-minded consumers.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

AP is so biased when they report exactly and quote what Trump/MAGA says and does on record!

Fake news!

So then the MAGA minions can cry that JT is somehow 'leftist' despite all evidence to the contrary.

Laughable. AP love to cherry-pick, twist, and frame words to fit their Uber Liberal narrative, all while hiding behind the facade of objectivity. AP, like most of the mainstream media, isn’t reporting - they’re editorializing, pushing Leftist agendas under the guise of journalism.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The opposite is Faux News, which uses propaganda to anger its viewers, who then get addicted to rage. Then Faux cites viewership to sell ads tailored for simple-minded consumers.

It would be ludicrous and disingenuous to claim that the biases exhibited on Fox News are any different from the biases exhibited on CNN or MSNBC.

You're not actually claiming that, are you?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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