Chicago Tribune, 6 Other Newspapers to Drop AP

Newsmax ^ | December 26, 2012 | Todd Beaman

[Zakeet]

The Chicago Tribune and six other newspapers owned by Tribune Co. are dropping the Associated Press starting early next month.

Besides the Tribune, the other newspapers include the Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.

The Los Angeles Times is expected to retain its AP membership under a separate agreement, Time Out Chicago reports.

[Snip]

The move, though historic for Tribune, was not unexpected. As early as 2008, not long after Sam Zell became CEO, Tribune Co. signaled intentions to end its ties with AP.

The service reportedly was charging nearly $9 million a year.

In 2010, Tribune cut back sharply on its use of AP after signing a multi-year contract with Reuters America, which is owned by Thomson Reuters.

The deal was estimated at the time to save Tribune as much as $5 million a year.

Tribune Co. is expected to emerge soon from its four-year bankruptcy, which began a year after Zell gained control through a leveraged buyout, Time Out reports.

[Zakeet]

Anybody out there dumb enough to believe the Trib will be less Lib?

[Zakeet]

There was a promoter named Zell,
Who fell under a newser's spell.
But the wires they puked trash,
And burned up so much cash,
That he told them to go to hell.

Ping

[abb]

ping

[Gaffer]

No. They all just figured they could lie with the best of em.
Why pay AP for what they can do themselves.

[Right Wing Assault]

After all these years of watching the AP, they figure they can make that crap up just as well and at a lower price.

[alloysteel]

Most importantly, does any of this affect the bottom line for EITHER AP or the Trib?

The demand for this kind of news feed is shrinking on a daily basis anyway, with thousands of amateur blogs out there every day coming up with probably equally as good (or bad, depending on your perspective) reporting and analysis of “news”.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Question: None of these companies are financially stable is there a source they are getting the money from? What keeps them afloat has anyone done any research on this?

thanks

[GeronL]

They won’t be any less liberal, but apparently Rooters is a lot less expensive than the Ap

[NonValueAdded]

The monolithic liberal press will be even more so now. And it will require even less coordination.

[William Tell]

Steve Van Doorn said: "What keeps them afloat has anyone done any research on this? "

Perhaps by giving away copies of their rag and then deceiving their advertisers about circulation numbers? I've heard of that happening in the past.

[Amberdawn]

Not if they’re in partnership with Roto-Reuters.

[Pontiac]

So they are moving from AP to Reuters to save 5 million a year. Good financial move that you can’t fault.

But I can’t say that moving from one purveyor of Leftist drivel to another is going to improve circulation much