Reuters To AP: Stop Whining

Blaming the new leaders or aggregators for disrupting the business of the old leaders, or saber-rattling and threatening to sue are not business strategies – they are personal therapy sessions. Go ask a music executive how well it works..
- Chris Ahearn, President, Media at Thomson Reuters

You knew it had to happen sometime. AP’s ludicrous policies were ripe for the competition to take full advantage and it looks like Reuters is right there to garner the link love from bloggers and new media leaders alike.

In fact, I’ve already alerted my bloggers over at Donklephant to a change in policy: always pick Reuters above the AP. And use the AP as little as possible.

In any event, here’s more from Ahearn…

I don’t believe you could or should charge others for simply linking to your content. Appropriate excerpting and referencing are not only acceptable, but encouraged. If someone wants to create a business on the back of others’ original content, the parties should have a business relationship that benefits both.

Let’s stop whining and start having real conversations across party lines. Let’s get online publishers, search engines, aggregators, ad networks, and self-publishers (bloggers) in a virtual room and determine how we can all get along. I don’t believe any one of us should be the self-appointed Internet police; agreeing on a code of conduct and ethics is in everyone’s best interests.

Here, here!

And here’s the question: Since AP is obviously wrong, how much business will they lose as a result of this policy?