Tom Curley

Paid news content may be making a comeback. The Associated Press said Friday that it will set up a division to help its member newspapers and broadcasters sell content to the new generation of content devices, including tablet computers and e-readers.

AP President and CEO Tom Curley told the Colorado Press Association convention in Denver that the new division, called AP Gateway, will provide a "launching pad" for content from AP and other publishers.

A 'Variety of Ways'

I have been participating in WeMedia events for years. I think the world of Andrew and Dale who started pulling this together when they were with the American Press Institute a few years back. WeMedia is an eclectic mix of leaders from new and traditional media and technology and marketing and…. That’s the point. It’s not another echo chamber event.
You should consider attending - especially as I have a neat code that gets you in at “friends of Ogilvy” pricing: WM-OGV.

The leaders of two of the world's major news organizations said Friday that it is time for search engines and others who use news content for free to pay up.

The comments from Tom Curley of The Associated Press and News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch come as the media industry struggles in the Internet age. Many news companies contend that sites such as Google have reaped a fortune from their articles, photos and video without fairly compensating the news organizations producing the material.

The Associated Press is moving ahead with plans for a system to detect unlicensed use of its content and potentially create new ways for the 163-year-old news cooperative and other media to make more money on the Internet.

As part of a strategy approved Thursday by the AP's board, the cooperative will start by bundling its text stories in an "informational wrapper" that will include a built-in beacon to monitor where stories go on the Internet.

The Associated Press and more than 100 of its member newspapers are launching a service Monday that will make news stories available on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and other mobile devices.

AP had announced the Mobile News Network at its annual meeting April 14 in Washington. AP's president and chief executive, Tom Curley, said then that six newspaper companies were working to help develop the new service.

The Associated Press announced Monday it will further cut fees paid by struggling newspaper members and will develop an advertising-supported service that will deliver stories and photos to advanced cell phones, including the iPhone.

The service, which will carry local news from participating newspapers as well as national and international news from the AP, is being tested with several newspaper companies and is expected to launch in the summer under the name Mobile News Network, the AP said.