The Associated Press is considering trying to track down every use of its material online, according to a Huffington Post report. AP Chairman Dean Singleton announced that the AP "would pursue legal and legislative actions” against those who don’t “properly license” AP content.
It’s certainly understandable that any media organization would try to protect their work. Everyone in the news industry is seating bullets trying to predict the future and to hang on to the present by whatever little thread they have now. However. Singleton reminds me a little of the small neighbor kid who nobody really wanted to play with. Like the kid down the street, Singleton wants to take his ball and go home. The likely response? "Go ahead—we’ll just move on without you."
The AP has always been a media powerhouse-prestige and access has been theirs. Singleton is afraid of the future-just as most players in the industry. Everything is uncertain. The problem is though, that you can’t just run willy-nilly and start talking shit. The AP doesn’t have the staff, time, or money to track down all of the misuse of their material. They know it and so does everyone else.
There is a code of ethics in journalism. Some will follow that code and some will not. Singleton should focus on what’s going to keep the AP going strong and maintain its role in the industry. He'd be better off using his time and resources to figure out what that industry needs to do in order to survive. That won’t happen if he takes his ball, runs home and slam the door behind him.
