The Associated Press (AP) announced on April 6, 2026, that it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists as part of a strategic shift away from its historical focus on newspapers. The move is meant to accelerate the news organization’s transition towards visual journalism and new revenue sources, particularly through partnerships with companies investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and reflects the economic pressures facing legacy news outlets.
The News Media Guild, the union representing AP journalists, stated that over 120 of its members received buyout offers on Monday, April 6, 2026.
Julie Pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP, said that big newspaper companies now account for only 10% of the AP’s income, down from what was once the lion’s share of the AP’s revenue. “We’re not a newspaper company and we haven’t been for quite some time,” Pace said.
To adapt to the changing landscape, the AP has doubled the number of video journalists it employs in the United States since 2022. The AP is also deploying rapid-response teams and assigning more journalists to beats focused on topics of customer interest, while committing to maintaining a presence in all 50 states.
Kristin Heitmann, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, noted that the AP has seen 200% revenue growth from technology companies over the last four years. The AP has pursued deals with AI companies, including leasing part of its text archive to OpenAI in 2023 (as the AI company built out its capabilities) and launching on Snowflake Marketplace last year to license data directly to enterprises building their own systems
The AP’s efforts also include AP Intelligence, a division designed to sell data to the financial and advertising sectors, and a deal with Google to deliver news through the Gemini chatbot. The AP agreed to sell U.S. elections data to Kalshi, a predictions market, last month.
Despite these changes, Pace said that “The AP is not in trouble. We’re making these changes from a position of strength but we’re doing so now to recognize our changing customer base.” She added, “If anything, it makes it more important that we retain these values as we make the transition.”