Also the sites Free Republic links to that feature AP material have ads. A click from a Free Republic user will generate revenue just as well as a direct access to the original site. APs' position deprives their customer of those hits AND income.
They are working against the economic interest of their customers and themselves and do not have enough knowledge of the internet to see it.
They are anti - capitalists so that furthers their agenda.
A large percentage of AP articles posted on FR are from sites that require excerpts only. Those thousands of sources have now lost thousands of hits because of AP’s reckless action. AP’s loss.
I know, it's unfathomable they don't see this? They're going to end up just like the record industry, absolutely killing their sales. Because of their asinine politics they are going to allow without realizing it new news services to take their place.
Dumbasses!
Never underestimate the ability of liberals and like-minded individuals and lawyers to kill their golden goose. AP affiliates have benefited greatly from restrictive policies and stupidity of NYT, LAT and their peers regarding digital content and here is the proof:
http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/z?t=my&q=c&l=off&z=l&p=s&a=&s=NYT
http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/z?t=my&q=c&l=off&z=l&p=s&a=&s=WPO
Now they want to do the same to their affiliates? Besides, the links to AP stories, unlike many other news services, become dead and disappear within few days, so without the archival copy of THEIR news coverage which was generously provided free of charge for them by sites like FR and others, how will AP prove that the way we describe NEWS is the way they described NEWS (see a recent screw up with CBS News referring to AP material)? Without archive, their “reputation” may suffer needlessly as they will have no proof of their “objectivity” and any misunderstanding and misinterpretation of their “unique literary work” material cannot be confirmed or verified.
“I see a dying company”. “I see layoffs”. They are digging a hole under themselves, and if they don’t stop digging... “Pride goeth before a fall”