San Francisco Peninsula Press Club: MediaNews papers want more help from AP

MediaNews Group, which has been cutting newsroom jobs at its 13 dailies in the Bay Area, is asking the AP for more help covering regional and state stories. That's according to an article in the Spring edition of the Associated Press Managing Editor (APME) newsletter by Martin G. Reynolds, editor of the MediaNews-owned Oakland Tribune. Reynolds' article is about complaints newspaper editors across the country have about the AP, including this from the Bay Area:

"I have concerns how AP fills in the gap for regional and state coverage," says Kevin G. Keane, Contra Costa Times executive editor and vice president of news for the Bay Area News Group [a unit of MediaNews].

"It doesn't pay attention to its regional audience."

As an example, Keane points to AP's coverage of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who he says AP writes about for Japan or New York, ignoring how the governor's policies impact the Bay Area.

The city of San Francisco is one area where the Bay Area News Group does
not deploy reporters and could use AP's support. "I don't believe we get it,"
Keane says.

Keane understands that AP is attempting to expand its brand,but in doing so neglects its roots.

"AP is supposed to be a collection of all of us," he says. "When it puts on national and international hats, do they lose sight of their original mission?"

Coincidentally, the chairman of the AP's board of directors is Dean Singleton, the CEO of MediaNews.

MediaNews papers want more help from AP