Chris Aheam is positioning Reuters as the anti-AP, and says it’s time to focus on evolving the news ecosystem instead of defending failing business models:

The Internet isn’t killing the news business any more than TV killed radio or radio killed the newspaper. Incumbent business leaders in news haven’t been keeping up. Many leaders continue to help push the business into the ditch by wasting “resources” (management speak for talented people) on recycling commodity news.

The most viable business model for Reuters – and other major news organizations – is the Internet. Distribution costs approach zero, and organizations can focus on producing original content. This is still in its relative infancy, but one thing is already clear:

I don’t believe you could or should charge others for simply linking to your content. Appropriate excerpting and referencing are not only acceptable, but encouraged. If someone wants to create a business on the back of others’ original content, the parties should have a business relationship that benefits both.

It’s too bad Rupert Murdoch doesn’t understand this.

This is not code for some hidden agenda – it is an open call for collective problem solving. Let’s do it wiki-style and edit it in the public domain. Let’s define the code of conduct and ethics we would all like to operate under.

Putting up walls, charging for content, threatening lawsuits, and blaming other people – especially bloggers and readers – won’t fox the problems facing the news industry. Leading the conversation and looking for a constructive way forward will earn a news organization respect and goodwill, both keys to building a sustainable business model.

(via Daring Fireball. “I Want You” postage stamp image courtesy Internet Archive.)