Breaking News = Premium News

There is an interesting article in PaidContent.org where they got a few minutes one-on-one with the CEO of the Associated Press, Tom Curley. He has been in a lot of the trade magazines lately talking about new structures and reforms the news industry should take to stay in business.

He has argued that content from the AP should no longer have its headlines or first graph of a story lifted by other web sites. He no longer wants to see other sites using AP photos without paying for them. And he also believes that the new cash cow is breaking news.

“We believe that breaking news is worth more these days than it ever was. So breaking news is a premium business.”

I agree with him. In television news, we are in a constant rush to be the first to break the news, the first to get the best pictures on the air, and the first to chase new angles on a breaking news story. We, as news organizations, believe that to the the best (and beat the competitors) we have to consistently let people know the information first. So this statement that Breaking News content is a premium is quite obvious. But I think Curley is the first to articulate it so well.

Few newsrooms in America today function without content from the AP. The AP already has the infastructure in place to get member stations/papers breaking news first. Any enhancement to that IS a premium that is worth the money. And as each of these stations/papers provide the late-breaking details to their audiences, they are attracting eyeballs which will help them make money. Hopefully a rising tide will lift all boats (apologies in advance for the cliche!)