"Coupled with reductions in the space allocated for news in print, papers are weighing whether there’s the same need for Associated Press content as in the past," wrote Chicago Trib columnist Phil Rosenthal on his blog.In Chicago especially, the Trib likely sees a need to run more Windy City-centric reporting as it's facing a challenge from a new local edition of the New York Times fueled by content from a news collective headed by an ex-Trib editor.
Trib papers, including the Los Angeles Times, last October gave the AP the required two-year warning that it may drop the service, will draw on other services like Reuters and the New York Times, in addition to using the AP for data like sports statistics during the week-long experiment starting Nov. 8.
So is less AP copy in circulation good for PR? A decreased reliance on wire content could ostensibly mean more content produced by local reporters, who would need more story ideas from PR pros.
On the other hand, the national reach of an AP article that mentions a client is unparalleled and a critical hit with potentially pervasive reach.