Reuters rocks - US business magazine

The source of this endorsement? Statesboro Business Magazine in Georgia.

“The Associated Press (AP), in my opinion is putting the nails in it’s coffin,” wrote publisher Allen Harkleroad. Calling for a boycott of the AP “until they disappear into oblivion”, he added: “On top of that the AP is trying to force sites to pay for fair use and public domain.

“I understand that there are websites out there that copy the AP’s content verbatim. However there are many independent news publications and blogs out there that only use small snippets or quotes and cite the original source. On top of that those cited source links send visitors to the Associated Press website.

“I for one (I am a publisher of a multitude of niche websites) am boycotting the Associated Press entirely and instead elect to support news agencies such as Reuters that don’t have a problem with publishers and bloggers pulling a quote from them. They understand the nature of the Internet and fair use...

“It’s sad to see the Associated Press shooting themselves in the foot like this. I guess there is no law against running your business in the ground, so they can have at it. The Associate Press is not the only news source out there.

“Long live Reuters and other news / press agencies that embrace the Internet and fair use. Goodbye AP, as I for one refuse to pay for fair use or public domain, much less for pulling a quote and sending your traffic back to your website or affiliate sites.” ■