AP guidelines? We don't need no stinkin' guidelines, says Jeff.

I have been known to post in the past about Associated Press Deficit Disorder (APDD), and its corollary, Associated Press Truth Deficit Disorder, and so have many many other bloggers. We all have used direct quotes from numerous AP reports.

Well, Associated Press is not taking it well: The Associated Press to Set Guidelines for Using Its Articles in Blogs. Basically they want bloggers to summarize their words, not to quote their stories directly.

Oh boy.

Are they trying to be controlling, or are they really that clueless?

Don't they realize that you can go on the internet to the actual websites in the countries reporting the news as they take place?

Memeorandum has a long list of blog reactions, but I went straight to my guru on these matters, Jeff Jarvis, who put it this way, AP, hole, dig. Jeff has A link ethic proposal for AP:

I propose to the Associated Press that it immediately begin linking to all its sources for stories, especially to members' original journalism because:

* This will support journalism at its source. As I've written here, it is vital that we link to original journalism so it can receive traffic, audience, branding, credit, conversation, and advertising.

* This will provide a better service to readers and clients, enabling them to find, read, and link to original reporting.

* This will be an act of transparency that everyone in journalism should be practicing. As they say in the math test, we should show our work. The AP can provide an example that other news organizations should follow.

This comes out of the ethic of the link and quote that I have learned from blogs. It says to our readers: Don't take my word for it, go see for yourself. And: Here's what the source said; I won't rephrase it but I will quote it directly so you can see for yourself.

In addition to original reporting from sources in the actual countries where the news take place (such as Noticias 24), I will be relying on Bloomberg, Reuters, and, on Latin American stories, al-Jazeera (which provides surprisingly good reporting from locations in South America).

UPDATE
Brian form SnappedShot has more at Pajamas.



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