A step in the right direction. About time Google started paying a decent price for content. Let's hope the AP holds firm on a decent deal. From PaidContent.org. Full story here.

Google Stops Hosting AP Content

In a sign that Google’s negotiations with the Associated Press over a new licensing contract may have reached a standstill, new AP articles are no longer being hosted in Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News; Search Engine Land‘s Danny Sullivan, who first reported the development, says that new AP articles haven’t been hosted on the site since Dec. 24. Google isn’t providing an explanation. The company’s full statement: “We have a licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its content on Google properties such as Google News. Some of that content is still available today. At the moment we’re not adding new hosted content from the AP.”

However, the AP has been in the process of renegotiating its licensing agreement with Google, as well as the big portals—and there have been signs that at least the Google talks have not been going so well. AP CEO Tom Curley, for instance, hinted in October that Google, unlike Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), hadn’t been willing to acquiesce to some of the AP’s demands, including that it have access to real-time metrics. “We haven’t talked. We haven’t talked. We haven’t talked with them in any serious way,” he said.

The Google deal dates back to three years ago, when the AP gave Google a license to use its content in unspecified ways. In August 2007, Google began to host material produced by the AP, along with other news agencies, directly on Google News for 30 days.

Sullivan theorizes that because the agreement is set to expire at the end of January, Google may be trying to avoid the complication of hosting AP stories that would have to be pulled down in fewer than 30 days. Presumably, that wouldn’t be a concern if it was clear that both sides were willing to re-up.

 

AP Chairman Dean Singleton says he is mad about the unauthorized use of news content, primarily on non-member sites. This is great news. Now lets hope that anger can be channeled into an actual business plan. Publications were annoyed but not quite angry that Craig's List and eBay stole their classified business, they were irked that Monster.com got their help wanted business, they were chagrined that Realtor.com eroded their real estate advertising business.  But they were not quite angry enough to to do anything about those blows to their businesses. It is good to see someone in the industry actually get angry. Now let's hope that translates into action. 

This is from www.paidcontent.org:

AP Annual Meeting: Singleton On Protecting AP’s Online Content: ‘We’re Mad As Hell’

By David Kaplan - Mon 06 Apr 2009 11:37 AM PST

MediaNews Group CEO and AP Chairman Dean Singleton began his keynote highlighting the wire service’s decision to concentrate on working with portals that protect its news content. On the use of online sites appropriating AP content and not providing any revenue back to the organization, Singleton channeled Howard Beale from the movie Network: “We’re as mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.”

The Associated Press decided to take steps to begin the process of trying to protect the content being generated by newspapers from being "scraped" or taken from the original website and used, without compensation elsewhere. Read the full story here.

It is a move in the right direction. A little late and a little less aggressive than we would have liked to have seen but you learn in the print industry not to expect bold, innovative, decisive action, especially when a committee is involved. What would have been really impressive is if the AP Board had come up with a plan to monetize the usage of content in unconventional streams. But (trying to be optimistic here) maybe they will get to that in their next meeting.