14 DAY TRIAL // The Associated Press is an American not-profit news agency. The cooperative is owned by contributing newspapers, radio and television stations, but many newspapers and broadcasters outside the USA are AP subscribers. They pay a fee to use AP’s material.
The AP has announced that it is working on a news and information application for the iPad. Due to the financial problems related to the chasm downturn in advertising during the past three years, AP is intending to charge a fee for the iPad application even if it will probably be given for free, initially. Obviously, the purpose is to help build an audience that would be attractive for the possible advertisers, the New York Times relates. The application software is called the AP Gateway and will encourage the development of fresh news for the iPad platform and for other several e-readers.
Regarding this matter, William Dean Singleton, chairman of the AP Board of Directors and chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group, states, “We’ve already seen the power of the AP Cooperative in AP Mobile, among the most popular news applications for smart phones worldwide. AP Gateway builds on the strength of the Cooperative in the era of digital publishing.” The success of such an alliance, between Apple and AP, has been verified, as Associated Press already offers a free application for Apple’s iPhone, the New York Times relates.
“AP Gateway is the natural extension of our ongoing digital strategy,” Tom Curley, president and CEO of The Associated Press, reveals. “Rather than just repurpose our content across formats, we now have a real opportunity to innovate and create differentiated experiences of the news across formats that will excite all of us, from producers to consumers of news.”
In this respect, Nick Ascheim, a former NY Times executive, has been hired to guide the app’s market processes. Ascheim will master a newly created unit, called AP Gateway, as the general manager of AP Digital.