The Associated Press announced Tuesday it may charge a premium to release news first to certain subscribers of its online service. Because a key strand of AP's mission and copyright protection is to deliver content as soon as verifiable facts become available, the promise of early delivery of a scoop to some actually entails AP delaying delivery of what it has gathered to others.

The planned news embargo is one of several moves by the non-profit organisation to recover from financial reversals in the face of instant reporting by hyperlocal outlets publishing to the web.