What is not mentioned once in the guidelines is the word link.

There is no mention of linking whatsoever. It is unclear whether linking is included it in the proper attribution described or whether they deem simple credit to be sufficient. While obviously you cant link in print or broadcast one reason why online content is more valuable to readers, linking has become commonly looked upon as necessary to attribution in online news, so those who deserve credit for breaking a story can in turn get traffic to that story. The letter does say that it will continue to use information from lines with URLs, but that attribution should be in the body of the story as well. However, it is unclear whether or not this attribution will actually include links. It will be interesting to see how the AP proceeds in this regard. Without links, the organization is setting itself up for a great deal of criticism.