Expanding state coverage through ‘Shared News Desk’

A “Shared News Desk,” which began at the Central region desk in Chicago as a pilot project last July, will begin operating at AP’s three other U.S. regional news desks, in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Phoenix, on April 20. The desk makes two important improvements to our state reports. It frees AP journalists to produce more original reporting and increases the number of state news stories on the wire.

The move dovetails with the creation earlier this year of a state government team focused on accountability and explanatory reporting across the country.

Here, Brian Carovillano, managing editor for U.S. news, explains the new initiative and how it’s already paying dividends for members and bolstering AP’s domestic news operation.

What does the Shared News Desk do?

The goal is simple: Get more content onto state wires at key times for AP members. To accomplish this, each desk identifies the best stories from members of the AP news cooperative in their region, rewrites those stories and distributes them in time for the morning rush.

What types of content do Shared News Desks produce?

Their output augments AP’s strong original reporting from every state. The Shared News Desk produces briefs and longer stories for print, online and radio and TV broadcasts. They also compile packages of feature stories shared by AP members that move in advance so other members can use them. The desks will ensure a steady flow of fresh stories for crucial drive-time broadcasts and morning online traffic.

The desks strive to find a mix of stories from both print and broadcast members and a diversity of datelines in a given state. They focus on surfacing the types of stories customers in each state have told AP that they most value.

For example, before the Shared News Desk, the news editor in Kansas City spent three hours per week preparing the weekly Member Exchange packages for Kansas and Missouri. The Shared News Desk now handles this responsibility. Its launch nearly coincided with the racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, enabling the Missouri team to focus more time on one of the top stories in the world.

In Texas, the Dallas bureau created an additional reporting shift thanks to time freed up by the Shared News Desk. And when the first U.S. Ebola patient was identified in Texas, the Dallas bureau was able to dedicate more reporting power to that top global story because the Shared News Desk was helping out on other Texas stories.

How much content will the desks produce?

The first Shared News Desk in Chicago has produced up to 1,200 stories per month, or 15-20 percent of AP’s total monthly text output in the 14-state region. A significant plus for AP members and subscribers is that more than half these items move before 4 a.m., a big increase over the amount of news previously available to them during those hours. This addresses a frequent request for more early-morning content.

With the Shared News Desk in operation, the state bureaus in the Central region have generated about 400 additional original AP stories in an average month than they did previously.

What has the response been?

The response has been quite positive. Members in the Central region where the desk has been up and running for nearly a year have noticed a difference and have told AP they appreciate the infusion of state stories arriving early in the day. We plan to build on this success and make our state reports even more timely and useful for our members across the country.