At the ASNE convention a year ago, Associated Press CEO Tom Curley got an earful from editors unhappy about what they perceived as the AP's disregard of its owner-members. In short, some of us said the cooperative was not particularly, shall we say, cooperative on what we need, how and when we need it, and for how much money.

The message appears to have resonated with Mr. Curley and the AP leadership. They are reaching out to editors and publishers in a variety of ways and venues.

Among the most notable of those was a focus group earlier this month at AP headquarters in New York. About two dozen editors and publishers were brought in to discuss AP's services, membership terms and pricing.

Participants included representatives of metros such as The Miami Herald, the Dallas Morning News and my own Seattle Times; smaller papers such as The Telegraph of Nashua, N.H., and the Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune; and chains such as Media General, Ogden Newspapers and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.

The sessions were rich and productive. AP's leaders were clearly listening and engaged, and assured us our input will help inform they plans moving forward.

By David Boardman, The Seattle Times

This issue is explored more fully in the upcoming American Editor, arriving in your mailbox soon.