A letter from the chair and CEO
The ability to speak freely without government control or retaliation is a principle The Associated Press has stood for since its founding in 1846. We uphold this value in each of the nearly 100 countries in which we operate across the globe. This has always included the U.S., where the government recently shut us out from covering White House events because of what we call a body of water.
Because of the unique role we play in the news ecosystem — providing thousands of news organizations who span the political spectrum with factual, nonpartisan journalism — it is our duty to stand up for free speech on behalf of not only our members and customers but also the public.
So we did, taking legal action in the U.S. to assert our First Amendment rights. A federal judge ruled in our favor, ordering the White House to reinstate AP’s full access to cover presidential events.
The importance of eyewitness journalism — of being on the ground, in the room — cannot be overstated.
We saw this firsthand last year as AP journalists were there to cover ground wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore; historic flooding in North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene; sweeping campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war; the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad; ripples of pivotal global elections that reordered the geopolitical landscape, and so much more. At the same time, AP was also there to capture moments of joy, wonder and entertainment, from the Paris Olympics and the solar eclipse to the Super Bowl.
In what remains the world’s largest act of journalism, AP in November counted the vote and declared the winners in nearly 7,000 races — including for president, Senate, U.S. House, and statewide and local elections — with over 99.9% accuracy. With 30% more elections customers over the last presidential election in 2020, we did this while explaining how and why AP plays this fundamental role in the American democracy. We also expanded the reach of accurate election information by providing it to over 400 nonprofit news organizations, in addition to our members and customers.
Before, during and after the election, AP journalists based in all 50 states reported on key issues that mattered to voters nationwide, including the economy and immigration. Our photographers captured images of victory and defeat, and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump — an image that rocketed across the internet and covered newspaper front pages the world over.
We know fact-based journalism resonates with audiences far and wide. Our website, APNews.com, set a record last year with over 2.6 billion page views. We worked to meet audiences where they are, delivering a news report that is over 75% visual. We have doubled the amount of video journalists on the ground across the U.S., and we produced infographics and data visualizations that brought complex stories to life. We optimized content for digital audiences and livestreamed breaking news and events, red carpet and sport-related coverage, and more.
In a year of significant technological innovation, AP set new standards for the ethical use of generative AI in the newsroom and began experimenting with the technology to generate headlines and translate text stories into Spanish. Importantly, human journalists remain central to this work, reviewing and editing all journalism before it is distributed. As always, our approach to using automation and AI in our newsroom is to free journalists from rote tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-impact work. AP also continued to lead the way in AI licensing, forging new relationships with technology companies to ensure intellectual property rights are protected.
Every news organization is navigating challenges in today’s rapidly moving media environment. At the AP, we are focused on meeting the moment as we continue to provide the accurate, fact-based, nonpartisan journalism our customers — and 4 billion people around the world — rely on each and every day.
Gracia Martore
Board Chair
Daisy Veerasingham
President and CEO