AP Offers Buyouts to U.S. Journalists in Strategic Shift

The Associated Press announced on Monday that it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists, marking a strategic shift away from its historical emphasis on newspaper journalism toward visual storytelling and emerging revenue streams in digital and technology sectors.

The move addresses the sharp decline in newspaper-related income, which once formed the bulk of the organization's revenue but now accounts for just 10 percent. Over the past four years, that segment has dropped by 25 percent, exacerbated by decisions from major publishers such as Gannett, McClatchy and Lee Enterprises to end or reduce their use of AP content. Gannett and McClatchy discontinued licensing agreements in 2024, while Lee Enterprises recently notified the AP of its intent to exit a contract early, ahead of its 2026 expiration.

"We are not a newspaper company, and we haven't been for quite some time," said Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor and senior vice president, in an interview. The organization, founded in the mid-19th century by New York newspapers to share reporting costs beyond local areas, plans to trim its global staff by less than 5 percent through these...