Today, I had the pleasure of being invited by the Associated Press for their ‘Interactive Media Summit.’ As digital media has become relevant for consumers, content companies of all sizes are trying to determine the next wave of products. Big media has been often (and in my opinion) incorrectly criticized for not developing innovative products. 
The Associated Press summit was a clear indication that big media companies are working on some very interesting projects. A few highlights:
- The AP released their application for the iPhone as soon as applications were launched.
- With the release of iPhone 3.0, the AP has push-notification working.
- The AP already has an application for the Palm Pre, and has had a Blackberry app for a while.
There has also been recent debate about access and accuracy. The AP clearly prides itself on accuracy. They’d rather be right than early. Furthermore, access to events such as the Olympics and the White House are not easy to get for digital-only publications. It’s also interesting to hear stories from journalists about their access as well as their process for gathering stories.
It’ll be interesting to see is how the Associated Press packages and monetizes these products across their mobile and web platforms. It’s definitely one company to watch.
