As vice president and director of strategic planning for the Associated Press, Jim Kennedy leads strategic planning across all divisions of the world's largest news organization, including services for print, broadcast and new media. His expertise includes the changes at AP to get the news to the next generation of news consumers and the AP's policy on fair use of content that originates in newspapers. As a facilitator at API's Newsmedia Economic Action Plan Conference in September, Jim was asked about the AP's plans for a sustainable online business strategy. Here's what he said.
1. Recently the Associated Press announced plans for a News Registry. How does it work?
The news registry is a service to be offered to news providers that will allow them to apply standardized mark-up language to their content and enclose the content and metadata in an open-source format for Internet distribution and display. The format will enable publishers to attach terms of use to the content itself, along with a tracking mechanism for real-time metrics. The registry will give publishers a new tool for both copyright enforcement and monetization.
2. Publishers seem to support it, but Internet communities are critical. Can you help us understand why?
Some have viewed the registry as strictly a defensive mechanism for rights enforcement. We believe increased content usage is the greatest potential value of the registry, as digital developers and consumers find they can access content more easily and under attractive terms of use.
3. If you could write a Fair Use Doctrine for the digital age, what would it be?
The best way to think about fair use is to think of it in terms of a new ecosystem that allows both content creators and consumers to benefit from new forms of distribution and display. The mechanics for enabling consumption have far outstripped the mechanics for building a digital publishing business.
4. What are the benefits of AP membership to publishers?
AP members have historically benefited from a cooperative approach to newsgathering. That hasn't changed and should remain relevant for some time to come. We think there will also be new opportunities in the future for cooperative members to build revenue along with cost-efficiency.
5. In two years, will AP have members, and, if not, what will the organization look like?
There may be new ventures added to the AP portfolio in the next few years that could create new revenue sharing or equity value for members in addition to traditional membership. We expect the cooperative to grow, not shrink, as a result.
This interview is second in a series of conversations with five media executives who shared their deep knowledge and expertise at API's Newsmedia Economic Action Plan Conference in September. The program addressed one of the most critical issues facing the news industry: generating revenue from online content. The conference was based on the Institute's Newsmedia Economic Action Plan , an integrated five-point plan to guide the news industry through the current disruptions and position itself for the future. You can download a free copy of the report by clicking the link.
