Australian Associated Press closing

The Australian Associated Press (AAP) has announced the shuttering of the AAP Newswire and the Pagemasters editorial production service.

The decision was prompted by the decline in the number of media companies subscribing to the news wire service in recent years, the service said.

“The unprecedented impact of the digital platforms that take other people's content and distribute it for free has led to too many companies choosing to no longer use AAP's professional service. We have reached the point where it is no longer viable to continue,” said a release on the closing.

AAP is owned by Nine, News Corp, The West Australian and Australian Community Media.

The Newswire will close at the end of June and Pagemasters at the end of August.

AAP's press release distribution business Medianet and its media intelligence business Mediaverse will be put on sale.

There will be job losses but job opportunities are also expected as AAP's shareholders and other companies determine how they’ll get and process news. News Corp and Nine will be making investments in their own teams to replace some of the material they get from AAP, the release said.

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