In a decisive move to expand its news coverage of issues relevant to its readers, Wednesday the MARIPOSA GAZETTE announced it had joined the Associated Press (AP).

“Even though most of our readers live in a secluded, rural area, there are evolving issues everyday that have an effect of their lives,” said R. D. Tucker, publisher and owner.

“Not just any news organization can join the AP, but our track record of award-winning news coverage and photography qualified us to join this worldwide network.”

Tucker continued, “The focus of the GAZETTE will remain predominantly local,” he said. “We now have access to the vast reaches of one of the world’s largest news gathering organizations, and we will sift through those resources to find stories most connected to our readers,” Tucker said.

GAZETTE Editor Jill Ballinger added, “Particularly in political and economic climate, issues and developing stories that provide our readers with the most up-to-date information on a regional and statewide basis is invaluable. It helps bolster the relevance of the GAZETTE in our readers’ daily lives.”

“One of the most exciting aspects,” Tucker continued, “is that once we are finished with our licensing negotiations for online content, the GAZETTE’S Web site will be updated six to eight times a day during the week, constantly bringing our readers up to speed on local, regional, and statewide issues.”

Readers will find expanded news coverage beginning next week, and the updates online will commence in the near future.

Headquartered in New York, the AP’s mission is to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability, and objectivity with reports that are accurate, balanced and informed. AP has about 3,700 employees – two-thirds of them newsgatherers – working in more than 300 locations worldwide.

The AP has received 49 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization in the categories for which it can compete. It also has 30 photo Pulitzers, the most of any news organization.

Neither privately owned nor government-funded, the AP is a not-for-profit news cooperative, owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members. They elect a board of directors that directs the cooperative.