The AP announces new division to sell digital products directly to readers

The AP newswire cooperative, which has been floundering about in the past couple of years about how to be relevant in a rapidly evolving digital world, has decided to create a whole new division to exploit internet devices of all kinds. An AP story says that the division will expand on AP Mobile for cell phones to provide content on all sorts of devices. Plans are already well underway to provide an application for the iPad.

The new division, AP Gateway, will allow member newspapers and broadcasters to sell digital products directly to readers.

"AP is proposing a change that is exciting, historic and even breathtaking. After 164 years, AP sees a way to extend the power of the cooperative to become a revenue-generating engine," said William Dean Singleton, who heads newspaper publisher MediaNews Group and is chairman of the AP board."By opening the AP Gateway, our industry can get into position now to take advantage of what promises to be a remarkable period."

The story suggests that The AP and newspapers have hopes that sophisticated electronic devices such as mobile phones provide a way forward from recent upheavals in which papers have neither been able (or courageous) enough to risk losing advertising and subscribers by charging end users.

"At last, we truly will be able to deliver the right content to the right people at the right time to the right device," said Tom Curley, CEO of the AP . "We must seize this opportunity to reinvigorate our business models as well as our journalism."