AP Launches Journalist Buyouts as Newspaper Revenue Falls to 10%
The Associated Press is offering buyouts to U.S.-based journalists as it moves away from its historic dependence on newspaper clients, marking a significant shift in how one of the world’s largest news organizations operates.
The decision signals mounting pressure across the industry, where collapsing print revenue is forcing legacy institutions to rethink their core business models in real time.
According to AP News and Axios, newspaper companies now account for only about 10% of AP’s revenue, a steep decline from previous decades when they were the foundation of its business.
The company plans to reduce its global workforce by less than 5%, though the impact on U.S. journalists could exceed that depending on how many accept voluntary buyouts.
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That uncertainty leaves open the possibility of layoffs if participation falls short, raising questions about how deep the restructuring could ultimately go.
“We’re not a newspaper company and we haven’t been for quite some time,” executive editor Julie Pace said.
The shift reflects a broader transformation in media, where organizations are prioritizing video, real-time coverage, and partnerships with technology companies as audience behavior changes and traditional revenue streams shrink.
AP has already doubled its number of U.S. video journalists since 2022 and expanded relationships with tech platforms and AI firms, underscoring how quickly the center of gravity is moving away from print.
What happens next depends largely on how many employees accept buyouts and whether deeper cuts are required to complete the transition.
For now, the move underscores a wider industry reality: the old newspaper-driven model is no longer holding.
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