Giovanna Dell’Orto had one of her toughest jobs as a reporter: talking to people who had just witnessed a shooting. And during her difficult birth, a voice was heard that offered a glimmer of hope. “Hey, I don’t know you?” the woman asked. “I saw you with the Pope.”
Delorto typically operates in Minnesota and has never stood alongside Pope, present or past. But months earlier, she was leading a new digital program introduced by her employer, The Associated Press. Delorto was anchoring a live program from Italy, overlooking St. Peter’s Square, covering the recent papal conference that elected Pope Leo as Pope Francis’ successor after his death.
Delorto, who speaks Italian and is part of the media’s reporter team covering religion, confessed in a recent interview that she was “surprised when I was asked to host the event.” “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
The fact that someone in Minnesota remembers watching DeOrto speak from a streaming video studio in Italy about electing a new pope gives Associated Press executives confidence that they may be shipping a number of up-and-coming news anchors. Many Associated Press journalists may end up serving as video hosts as the company ramps up its efforts to bring live news to a global audience. In February, for the first time, the Associated Press produced a live program from inside the U.S. Capitol for President Trump’s State of the Union address, featuring AP reporters Meg Kinnard and Sagar Meghani and “invited guests.” The company also focuses on red carpets at events such as the Grammy Awards.
Julie Pace, editor-in-chief and senior vice president of the Associated Press, said no company can compete with CNN or CBS News. “We’re not trying to do a big broadcast network style production. It’s an area that other people have cornered, and we’re not trying to compete,” she said in a recent interview. “Instead, we’re trying to fill a void for people who want a near-immersive live video experience while explaining a little bit of what’s going on.”
Many of the media industry’s so-called “communications services” have been offering video for many years. Bloomberg operates its own cable network, and Reuters has provided video to many of its customers over the years. But it almost feels strange to combine AP and Associated Press. That’s because the Associated Press is still best known for providing news from around the world to its newspaper customers — even if those stakeholders make up a much smaller portion of the company’s business base than they once did.
In fact, a large portion of AP’s customer base in 2026 will consist of non-media customers such as broadcasters, digital broadcasters, and technology companies. U.S. newspapers now account for less than 10% of total revenue, but non-media customers continue to grow, the people said. And while most of AP’s overall revenue comes from the aforementioned enterprise customers, the company is using video to tap into the direct-to-consumer segment where videos can be viewed via YouTube, generating new revenue.
The Associated Press’ acceleration of its video efforts highlights the continued blurring of lines in the media field, with easier access to video turning players who once plowed separate fields into competitors. Traditional print publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are now wielding influence in the video and audio world. Television news heavyweights such as NBC News and MS NOW offer newsletters and text feeds from high-profile talent. Advances in technology are putting companies like the Associated Press into a new business competing for the attention of advertisers and viewers who may have previously passed by them without a second thought.
“While news agencies have always been ignored as the stepchildren of news media families, AP in particular has huge tentacles of global coverage and a strong international bench that already provides a large amount of news content. So finding a way to amortize those costs while generating additional profits seems like a smart approach to pursuing revenue growth,” says Mark Feldstein, chairman of the University of Maryland’s Broadcast Journalism Program. “Yes, newspapers and cable TV already offer this, but it’s not free, so even if it’s not traditionally associated with this, it seems like it’s worth a try for AP.”
Editors at the news cooperative see it as an opportunity to bring AP reporting to millions of people who might not normally see it. One effort focused on the 2024 presidential election drew more than 13 million viewers, said Jacques Orest, deputy Washington bureau chief who oversees video production. “We have an audience here, and we want to keep them informed,” he says. The staff’s lack of experience with video could just be a selling point, he suggests. “We have real reporters, not TV anchors or commentators. They’re real political reporters who tell us in real time what they’re seeing and what they’re hearing. We want to keep our focus on fact-based journalism and keep our focus on live content.”
Certainly, reporters shouldn’t monopolize the show, Pace said. The Associated Press’ video plan calls for “light commentary.” There are few words, but (hopefully) a lot of meaning.
“We don’t want a constant dialogue. We don’t want it to be partisan or overtly political or a minute-by-minute game,” she says. “We’re really a news organization that exists to explain, add context, and help people navigate what they’re seeing.”
The presence of hard news staff in a media that is often considered soft has the potential to spark a spark. Livestreams of entertainment events like the Grammys and Golden Globes aren’t usually controversial, but Anthony McCartney, entertainment and lifestyle editor at The Associated Press, said celebrities are sometimes asked for their opinions on recent headlines. “If there’s breaking news on the day of a show we’re producing, we ask about it,” he says. “Immigration enforcement was a big topic when we were at the Grammys, and a lot of the talent knows that if they stop by The Associated Press, they’ll ask about the news of the day.” Discussions like this, he added, “I think are appropriate for an AP-branded show.”
Video remains a challenge for staff who are used to writing things down or typing away at a keyboard. Delorto wore a flashy black dress as she prepared to host a livestream for The Associated Press before and after the papal conference. “This is me trying to look decent in front of a global audience,” she recalls, but she was told by video workers that there was no place to attach a microphone or other equipment to the garment. Dell’Orto wore it with a dress and pants.
“I feel more comfortable using a notebook, pen and laptop,” says the journalist. “But I am very aware that the definition of my job is not the medium in my hands. My mission is to communicate the facts to people.”
