Shedding more public light on the Sunshine State, the Associated Press' television arm, Associated Press Television News, will add Florida state capitol video coverage to its offerings with the launch of APTN Florida Dec. 1, the newsgathering consortium announced. It's the first state video service offered by AP.
APTN's Tallahassee Bureau will cover statehouse news and provide technical infrastructure for stations to broadcast stand-ups from the state capitol, the Florida Supreme Court and AP's Tallahassee bureau.
"AP brings unmatched editorial resources to the capitol," said Kevin Walsh, AP's Miami Bureau chief. "With the addition of APTN Florida, we have a 10-person full-time staff in Tallahassee, and 33 staff working in several other Florida bureaus, to provide stations complete coverage of the stories they need."
Tallahassee will be AP's fifth television bureau, complementing operations in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Washington.
"State news is at the core of AP's coverage," said James R. Williams III, AP vice president and director of broadcast services. "And state government is at the heart of our state news reports. This expansion of our Tallahassee bureau will enable AP to bring television stations high-quality, in-depth coverage of the stories that impact viewers."
