The Tribune Co. has notified the Associated Press that it plans to drop the co-operative’s services, reports Editor & Publisher. Under current contract, Tribune must present a 2-year notice of termination. Daily papers published by the Tribune Co. include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), The Orlando Sentinel, Red Eye (Chicago), the Hartford Courant, The Baltimore Sun, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) and The Daily Press (Newport News, Va.).
Rumors of widespread dissatisfaction with the AP have been growing since last summer, when eight of the largest Ohio papers and five Montana papers formed their own news-sharing cooperatives and cut out AP’s services. Newspapers' financial troubles and an upcoming 2009 AP service-rate increase remain the chief problems among the AP's customer base. The news company also made headlines for its recent conflicts with photographers and bloggers.