AP CEO Urges Media to Adapt to Web

by Kelly Olsen, Business Writer - The Associated Press, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_hi_te/skorea_digital_forum_curley

In a May 31, 2007 article published on Yahoo! News, AP business writer Kelly Olsen summarizes a speech given by AP President and CEO Tom Curley to Seoul Digital Forum 2007 attendees. Curley encouraged news organizations to stay committed to the fundamentals of newsgathering and not be afraid to "go where the users are," which over time has taken the AP beyond the printed page and broadcast, and even beyond the internet.

Olsen writes:

The Internet is bringing numerous changes to the media industry, but the fundamentals of newsgathering remain the same, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Thursday. "As we consider the digital future though, let's be very clear about one thing: Technology may change how journalists work, but it has never changed what journalists do," he said in a speech to the Seoul Digital Forum 2007."Speaking truth to power or acting as the watchdog of the powerful is one of journalism's enduring values," Curley said.

For AP, a news cooperative founded in 1846 and traditionally focused on newspapers and broadcast outlets, technological advances in news delivery have meant big changes in recent years, including a constant search for new ways to deliver content via digital means.

"The clear imperative today is that we have to go where the users are, and fit our content and interactivity to the screen they happen to be using," Curley said in his multimedia presentation to the forum.

"Consumers are consuming more content than ever, but we have to provide it in new ways and under different terms from those that drove our business through the 20th century," he said...

Click here to read Olsen's summary of Curley's speech in its entirety on the Yahoo! News website.