Gannett, publisher of USA Today and hundreds of local newspapers, will stop using the Associated Press’ content starting next week, a significant blow to the not-for-profit wire service collective that still relies on memberships for revenue.
Gannett will eliminate AP dispatches, photos and video as of March 25, according to an internal memo from chief content officer Kristin Roberts, obtained by TheWrap.
“We create more journalism every day than the AP,” Roberts said in the Tuesday statement, adding that not paying for AP content “will give us the opportunity to redeploy more dollars toward our teams and build capacity where we might have gaps.”
The news ends a deep and decades-long relationship between one of the world’s largest news organizations and one of the nation’s largest newspaper publishers. For years, editors at the AP generated items for USA Today’s famous “News From Around Our 50 States” page; AP news, reviews and photos have been a staple in Gannett-owned local morning and afternoon editions for generations.
“We are shocked and disappointed to see this memo,” an AP spokesperson told TheWrap. “Our conversations with Gannett have been productive and are ongoing. We remain hopeful Gannett will continue to support the AP beyond the end of their membership term at the end of 2024, as they have done for over a century.”
In a statement from Gannett, the company said that the decision “enables us to invest further in our newsrooms and leverage our incredible USA TODAY Network of more than 200 newsrooms across the nation as well USA TODAY to reach and engage more readers, viewers and listeners.”
It should also be noted that Gannett has implemented consistent cost-cutting measures in recent years, including significant layoffs impacting hundreds of staffers at local newspapers across the country.
The New York Times first reported the announcement on Tuesday.
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