Editor & Publisher magazine reports that Tom Curley, the former publisher of USAToday who is the new president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press (he’s following a Gannett senior executive career tradition), told newspaper publishers about what he calls “eAP” or “the electronic AP”.
“We see eAP as a giant leap forward,” Curley said. He also told of plans to increase AP revenues by developing new business in foreign countries. “Future growth depends on repositioning AP for serving international markets and news and information audiences,” he said.
We’re skeptical. The AP has long (150+ years) been called a ‘gaslight’ organization because it’s woefully slow adapting to change. Had Curley detailed actual plans of what the AP will do online, then perhaps we could accept his slapping an ‘e’ in front of his company’s initials. But just as calling a something ‘turbocharged’ without actually adding a turbine doesn’t improve it, calling the Associated Press “the electronic AP” without actually having changed the organization does nothing.
As for the idea of increasing revenues by developing new business in foreign countries, say hello to Reuter’s business plan of 1960.