Losing AP Wire?

[sprtswrtr10]

I am the sports editor of a CNHI daily.

I know. Woe is me.

For CNHI, we are one of the bigger papers, though we're not in a league with its Mass. properties.

I am told we are losing the "supplemental" wire on Jan. 1.

I'm not sure what it means, but I'm pretty sure it means we'll be getting what I used to get when I was a one-person sports staff at a very small daily.

Is there anybody out there in my situation who's on top of this. Because I must admit, I heard an inkling of this months ago, even on this site, but once school started back up — we cover preps and one D-1 university (bowl games, NCAA Tournaments, the works) like a blanket — and things got really busy again and I forgot about it.

I am scared.

We're four pages daily (from 6 to 10 Sunday, depending on time of year), with one scoreboard page, that is briefs down the side, a couple small items across the top, including TV/RADIO/SCHEDULE and six columns of agate. I am scared of losing that page. Scared of becoming a three-page section. Scared of our product shrinking by necessity, and thus staff shrinking even though if there are four people in the building who kill themselves every week, they all work in sports.

I believe this is an across the board CNHI issue, yet most CNHI papers already get the bare bones AP wire if they get it at all. I don't think anybody will be affected the way we, and what others might be just like us, will be affected. Are there other sources of agate? Are their other sources of agate that woudn't take hours to format?

Also, does anybody know if the big CNHI properties in Mass. are facing the same issue. I have a hard time believing the Quincy Patriot Ledger is losing, as it knows it, it's AP Wire.

Thanks for any thoughts, information or suggestions in advance.

 

[wickedwritah]

Ledger is a GateHouse paper, not CNHI. You're thinking of The Eagle Tribune.

If you are getting basic AP wire, you still should be getting photos. Make that two-column NBA photo a three-column NBA photo with smaller recaps.

 

[sprtswrtr10]

My mistake.
Embarrassing.
OK, I find it hard to believe the Eagle Tribune will be losing, as it knows it, the AP wire.
Again, I ask for everybody's thoughts, suggestions or helpful information that might be passed along.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

You really need to find out exactly what you're losing. Make sure you know what you will still be subscribed to after Jan. 1 from your folks, then call the AP bureau chief for your state and get a precise rundown of what you'll have. No reason to sweat over something you don't know the details of.

That being said, I know the AP is revamping their distribution system, allegedly making it more a la carte, where you pay for what you want and nothing else. I think I've heard this before, and I'm not sure when this change is supposed to take effect, so I don't know if that corresponds to your fears of a Jan. 1 armaggedon.

Oh, and we should all be scared of the shrinking going on.

 

[Colton]

I work for a CNHI shop and I posted about hearing this rumor a couple of months ago (I'm too lazy to search for the thread). When I got wind of it, my reaction was, "WTF?"

As I heard it then, CNHI gave AP two years' notice that it would not be renewing its contract -- which it, apparently, was contractually required to do.

A few months ago, it was a rumor... and I hadn't heard anything else -- until now.

Hang in there. I have a feeling all of us who are unfortunate enough to be on the rapidly sinking CNHI ship will be in the same boat before too long.

 

[Write-brained]

Anyone know how much money an AP contract costs? Just how much would this newspaper be 'saving?'

 

[wickedwritah]

Just how much would this newspaper be 'saving?'

CNHI is doing this with every paper, the thought being that they will use CNHI News Service stuff from all the other papers in the chain. Last I checked, CNHI did not have any D.C. reporters, though, and there are some very big gaps in the chain's nationwide penetration, so it's a penny-wise, tremendously pound-foolish move.

 

[Tom Petty]

I am the sports editor of a CNHI daily.

I know. Woe is me.

For CNHI, we are one of the bigger papers, though we're not in a league with its Mass. properties.

I am told we are losing the "supplemental" wire on Jan. 1.

I'm not sure what it means, but I'm pretty sure it means we'll be getting what I used to get when I was a one-person sports staff at a very small daily.

Is there anybody out there in my situation who's on top of this. Because I must admit, I heard an inkling of this months ago, even on this site, but once school started back up — we cover preps and one D-1 university (bowl games, NCAA Tournaments, the works) like a blanket — and things got really busy again and I forgot about it.

I am scared.

We're four pages daily (from 6 to 10 Sunday, depending on time of year), with one scoreboard page, that is briefs down the side, a couple small items across the top, including TV/RADIO/SCHEDULE and six columns of agate. I am scared of losing that page. Scared of becoming a three-page section. Scared of our product shrinking by necessity, and thus staff shrinking even though if there are four people in the building who kill themselves every week, they all work in sports.

I believe this is an across the board CNHI issue, yet most CNHI papers already get the bare bones AP wire if they get it at all. I don't think anybody will be affected the way we, and what others might be just like us, will be affected. Are there other sources of agate? Are their other sources of agate that woudn't take hours to format?

Also, does anybody know if the big CNHI properties in Mass. are facing the same issue. I have a hard time believing the Quincy Patriot Ledger is losing, as it knows it, it's AP Wire.

Thanks for any thoughts, information or suggestions in advance.

**** sprts, i believe i saw a cnhi paper a few months ago that was buying both the preprepared FB and BB pages. want the name of the paper? send me a PM.

 

[Colton]

Tom: My CNHI shop buys both prepared sets, too. It was one of the reasons they gave me for not replacing a loyal guy who had to resign because of severe health issues.

 

[Football_Bat]

I popped in early to get some advance work done and got a nasty surprise.

Not only is the AP wire down, the whole server is down and I can neither open a page to lay out nor access the wire nor open a local story.

So here I am, spamming on SportsJournalists.com at work while I could be doing the same at home sipping a morning beer in my skivvies.

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

[OnTheRiver]

I popped in early to get some advance work done and got a nasty surprise.

Not only is the AP wire down, the whole server is down and I can neither open a page to lay out nor access the wire nor open a local story.

So here I am, spamming on SportsJournalists.com at work while I could be doing the same at home sipping a morning beer in my skivvies.

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Mmmm .... morning beer.

 

[Tom Petty]

Tom: My CNHI shop buys both prepared sets, too. It was one of the reasons they gave me for not replacing a loyal guy who had to resign because of severe health issues.

how does that make you feel, sprtswrtr10?

 

[Colton]

UPDATE: My editor at our CNHI shop checked into this today and it's not happening here, so it's not a CNHI-wide decision. Then again, not one single thing is ever for certain with this barf-bag company.

 

[SCEditor]

Our editor mentioned the other day that we pay close to $100K per year for AP service. We're a 16K in S.C., and we don't have the highest level of service, but we don't have the bottom-level stuff either. I'll try to pinpoint a number after the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

[Bubbler]

CNHI has different divisions, if this is true -- and I suspect it's not -- I wonder if it applies to some divisions, but not others?

 

[Tom Petty]

CNHI has different divisions, if this is true -- and I suspect it's not -- I wonder if it applies to some divisions, but not others?

**** cnhi. i hope they go BK.