Taking a step toward mapping the future of online news, the Associated Press and Yahoo! are closing in on a deal that would impose tighter restrictions and potentially a higher price tag on AP stories distributed on Yahoo!’s news site, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal, reported in the Wall Street Journal, is expected to be reached in the next few weeks. It could begin to resolve an increasingly urgent issue in the media industry: how news organizations deal with the major Internet portals, which some publishers say unfairly profit from their work and cost them tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

An AP spokesman declined to comment on the negotiations. Yahoo! also declined to comment, beyond saying, “The AP is one of Yahoo!’s most important content partners. Yahoo! values our long-standing relationship with AP and expects it will continue for years to come.”