One cost-cutting move I can get behind

In our 36K universe, we have printed two editions – a regional edition at 11:15 p.m. and an edition for our "home" county at 12:15 a.m.

Now, we're printing one edition at 11:30 p.m.

Yeah, we're gonna miss a few late scores.

We're also going to all be home at midnight or so.

I'll call it a push.

 

Speaking of cost-cutting moves, we got word today that there is a possibility--"possibility" was emphasized--that we might be cutting out our AP service. we are a small daily that has had the full-fledged AP service for a long time, but we stress almost total local coverage every day. granted, we don't go big time heavy on wire stories, but it's there to help out and--of course--for particularly big stories nationally.
but it's either cutting that out or maybe losing an employee. pick your poison.
it just doesn't get any better for any of us right now, does it?

 

Some dailies would only be four or eight pages if they gave up AP.

 

Isn't two-years notice required in terminating an AP contract?

 

Aren't there different levels of AP service where there is a cheap package where you get a lot of stories but not all the agate — something like that. If you're on one of the more expensive packages, can you just get one of the cheaper ones??

 

I know my small daily just dropped AP photo a few months ago, but still gets all the text.

 

I do know that twice-weeklies can sign up for something called AP Newsfinder. It's a text-only service, and it moves 24 hours after the story moves on the actual wire.

 

We did the same thing a couple months ago. And I don't think one person in the newsroom complained. We kept the second deadline, so we actually gained a half hour, and now the news folks don't have to re-do 1A for our metro edition.