Dow Jones Newswires links with AFP, breaks with AP
Jinfo Blog

26th March 2008

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Dow Jones Newswires has terminated its relationship with The Associated Press (AP) and has linked up with Agence France Presse (AFP). On the face of it this news may not be thought of as greatly impacting the many information professionals who subscribe to Dow Jones services. The change does not affect content agreements that the Wall Street Journal newspaper and the Dow Jones Factiva news database have with the AP, according to statements made by Dow Jones. However its impact will be felt throughout the agency services themselves, particularly within AP, which has had a relationship with Dow Jones for 41 years. The press releases from Dow Jones and AFP are understandably positive but the main cause of the change is disagreement over money according to Tom Brettingen. Mr. Brettingen was promoted to AP’s SVP and chief revenue officer in a consolidation of its media units on March 13th. http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_031308a.html On March 18th he issued a statement on the break with Dow Jones Newswires as follows: "We weren't able to resolve that (adequate compensation) with DJ, so we're going our separate ways. We've been expanding our domestic financial coverage significantly, and we're in the process of doing the same internationally." http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h8VwUH6zmcYXPledRdLbKrbEhAGgD8VG4G7G2. Pierre Louette, chairman and chief executive of AFP, spoke about the mutual benefits of the new deal in his media statement adding that “It is another recognition of the fine work by AFP correspondents around the world, sometimes in difficult and dangerous conditions.” http://www.afp.com/english/afp/?pid=news&release=djones. Under the agreement, AFP will provide Dow Jones Newswires with its worldwide political and general news services in English, French and German. Terms of the deal were not provided. Clare Hart spoke on behalf of Dow Jones Newswires stating: “As the world’s oldest news agency, AFP has earned a reputation for speed, accuracy and trustworthiness. With its global scope and 24-hour coverage, our customers will be able to monitor the pulse of global change, enabling them to react quickly to news events,” said Clare Hart. Ms. Hart is executive vice president, Dow Jones & Company, and president, Enterprise Media Group.http://www.dj.com/Pressroom/PressReleases/Other/US/2008/0318_US_DowJonesNewswires_7779.htm Dow Jones continues to enhance its coverage of news outside the US. It recently announced that it has acquired Betten Financial News, a leading Dutch financial and economic news organization. More information on this story can be found in the latest edition of our sister publication VIP available to subscribers this week. There have been various commentaries on the impact on the agency bureaux of the three companies. On Forbes.com Louis Hau commented on the advantage that Dow Jones had in locating many of its correspondents in AP offices around the world, which gave it an opportunity to expand overseas. He goes on to say: “But today, AP and Dow Jones don’t really need each other as much as they once did. The easy accessibility of breaking news over the Internet has made it less urgent for Dow Jones to supplement its news content with comprehensive non-business coverage from the AP. And now that it is part of the global News Corp. empire, Dow Jones has access, at least in theory, to office space and other facilities that it didn’t have before.Meanwhile, the AP has greatly expanded its own coverage of corporate news and the financial markets–partly with the help of editors and reporters it poached from Dow Jones.” http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/03/19/ap-dowjones-split-biz-media-cx_lh_0319newswires.html AP is likely to need to increase its presence outside the US to remain competitive with Reuters, Bloomberg and AFP in local markets. Two such indications could be the announcement of a World Spanish desk in New York and Mexico and the creation of a Spanish-service position to cover Spain, based in Madrid. AFP has always been strong in Europe. It increased its global presence last year by signing a deal with Google to distribute its news content. The relationship with Dow Jones can only improve its position.

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