From time to time we run into evidence that many members believe AP staff is closely monitoring member Web sites for stories to pick up for the wire. They think it's no longer necessary to proactively send their stories to AP as they did before the Internet.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly all of AP's daily newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have sites, and it's simply impossible for AP to check all of them throughout the day. That means that some stories that should be in the state report wind up being overlooked.

The best way to make sure your stories and photos are available to other members is to send them without being asked. As always, stories may be e-mailed to mnpe@ap.org. Photos can be sent to our state photos operation in New York via FTP or e-mail (statephotos@ap.org). If you send a photo by e-mail, make sure to call to point it out to editors there: 888-AP-FOTOS.

Getting AP Images Accounts
Under changes made to AP's photo services effective Jan. 1, most newspapers should abandon the old 'one-account-for-everyone' method and get individual AP Images accounts. How to do that? Send a  request via email to: api_member_support@ap.org  or call 877-836-9477.

You may find new hires or even veterans with new roles wondering just what sorts of stories to share with other newspapers through AP. We sometimes hear from members when a story they've contributed isn't picked up and on another day notice that something very similar is. It's frustrating and sometimes leads member editors to wonder whether offering stories is worth the trouble or even to stop sharing stories all together.

Click here for the Minnesota Contributing to AP Guide

It's important to keep in mind that this is only a guide. Breaking news on any given day may mean a perfectly good story that would normally be picked up for the wire will be passed. Not because the story isn't a good one and seems to meet the guidelines' criteria but because it's competing for AP's attention with more important news. Or because of  bureau staffing that day.

And the subjective nature of news judgment does sometimes lead to disagreement about what member content should be on the wire. An AP editor on one shift may pass on a story and another AP editor later in the day decides to use it. If you're not satisfied with a pickup decision by AP, call or email News Editor Doug Glass , 800-552-7250; 612-332-2727;  dglass@ap.org.
Or Chief of Bureau Dave Pyle, 800-552-7250; dpyle@ap.org.

Don't forget the MarketPlace section of AP Exchange, where members can post any content they want to share with other members, regardless of AP's decision for its movement on the wire.