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International
HISTORY OF WIRE AGENCIES
INTRODUCTION The history of news agencies, also known as wire agencies, actually begins with the coming of the telegraph and underwater cables in the mid- 19th century. The latter marked the dawning of the telecommunication age. For the first information could reliably travel faster than people. Increasingly, as global trade grew in importance, there was greater commercial value in the rapid communication of world news via the wires. In fact, the rise of wore-based international news agencies gave birth to the global media. The French Havas, German Wolff and British Reuters were commercial news agencies established in the 19th century as domestic enterprises, but with particular interest in foreign news. They produced the news and then sold it to newspaper publishers. Theses news agencies established the “Ring Combination” in the 1850s, a cartel that divided the entire world market for news production and distribution among themselves. Later, Associated Press and United Press, both established by the US newspapers too joined the cartel. These news agencies were, in fact, the global media until well in the 20th century, and even after the dawn of broadcasting their importance for global media was unsurpassed. Before the end of the World War-II, besides the shortwave broadcasting, they occupied a dominant role in global media. Then Soviet Tass had also come into being but it had little influence outside the Communist world. However, the influence of news agencies started waning with the emergence of genuinely global media in the late 20th century. In the post-World War-II period, the German Wolff news agency collapsed following its failure to recover from its affiliation with the Third Reich and The French Havas was reincarnated as the Agence France-Presse (AFP). AP and UP that became UPI in 1958 were already there. These four wire-based news agencies came to be known as the “Big Four”. The most dramatic media technology to emerge in the pre and post-World War-II period were the radio and the television. Their charisma influenced the existing media. That was why the “Big Four” too had to expand their services to include radio. Television posed a greater challenge, and for that medium a handful of specific newsfilm agencies emerged to provide TV companies and networks with international newsfilm and videotape footage. UPI allied with British commercial media broadcasting interests to form UPITN, while Reuters linked up with BBC and several other broadcasting companies to establish Visnews. Similarly, the other two international newsfilm agencies were connected to the US TV networks CBS and ABC. Meanwhile, ABC also established WorldVision, a
global commercial broadcasting network. Like the news agencies, the international newsfilm was conducted by a select group of Western forms, based in the US and UK. Later, the emergence of global satellite television led to a rearrangement of the global news industry. The “Big Four” still dominate the global print market while Reuters TV, formerly Visnews and Worldwide Television News remain the dominant global television news agencies. However, satellite television has brought into existence regional and global news channels. The most prominent is CNN International, owned by Time Warner, which reaches over 200 countries and the vast majority of the world population. Although subsidized news services like the BBC World Service and Voice of America still provide global news in numerous languages via the non-commercial and unprofitable channels of shortwave, they are battling to maintain their subsidies in a post-Cold War era. Following is a glimpse of the “Big Four”:
INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES AT A GLANCE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Agence Frances Presse (AFP) by Charles Louis Havas in 1835. Associated Press (AP) by five major newspapers in 1848. Reuters by Paul Julius Reuter in 1851. United Press International (UPI) by E.W. Scripps in 1907. Reuters TV (formerly Visnews) Worldwide Television News Worldvision
AGENCE FRANCES PRESSE (AFP) Agence Frances Presse (AFP) is the first world-wide news agency, founded at Paris in 1835 by Charles Louis Havas, the father of global journalism. Started as Agence Havas in 1835, it got its present name in 1858. Today, the agency continues to expand its operation worldwide, reaching thousands of subscribers via radio, television, newspapers and companies from its main headquarters in Paris and four regional centers in Washington, Hong Kong, Nicosia and Montevideo. Presently, Bertrand Eveno is its President, Pierre Louette, the General Director, and Pierre Taillefer, the Director of Information. According to 2005 figures, 2000 employees are associated with it. Its worldwide network spans 165 countries, 110 of which are home to bureaus, and 50 of which are covered by local correspondents. Coverage is organized through 116 bureaus around five regions, North America (Washington), Latin America (Montevideo), AsiaPacific (Hong Kong), Europe-Africa (Paris), and Middle East (Nicosia). Besides,
within France, the regional network is comprised of 7 bureaus. It is coordinated by a bureau manager based in Paris. It launched its Arabic language service from Cairo in 1969 and began using satellites for transmission. It produces each day 4-6 lakh words in text, 1000 photos and 50 news graphics.
ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) Founded in 1848, the Associated Press is the second oldest and largest news organization in the world. It serves as a source of news, photos, graphics, audio, and video for more than one billion people a day and its customers include newspapers, radio and television stations, and Internet news sites. In fact, in 1848 five major newspapers of the USA had jointly launched the AP. It took shape of an international news agency in 1900. It has bureaus in 121 countries and tailors its news and photo reports to reflect the specific regional interests of Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa and offers news in four foreign languages- French, Spanish, German, and Dutch. Agencies translate AP copy into scores of other languages, from Arabic ro Chinese. It operates as a not-for-profit cooperative with 3,700 employees working in more than 242 world-wide bureaus. Presently, 1,700 US daily, weekly, non-English and college newspapers, 5,000 radio/TV outlets, 1000 AP radio network affiliates, 330 international broadcasters, 8,500 international subscribers receive its services. AP has received 48 Pulitzer prizes, including 29 photo Pulitzers REUTERS Reuters is one of the “Big Four” international news agencies. Out of the four, it is the only British news agency. In October 1851, Paul Julius Reuter, a German-born immigrant, opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Calais-Dover cable. Two years earlier, he had used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service which operated for a year until the gap in the telegraph link was closed. Reuters, as the agency soon became known, eventually extended its service to the whole British press as well as to other European countries. It also expanded the content to include general and economic news from all around the world. The reputation of its service was enhanced by a succession of reporting scoops. For example, in 1865, Reuters was first in Europe with the news of President Lincoln’s assassination in the US. As overland telegraph and undersea cable facilities developed, the business expanded beyond Europe to include the Far East in 1872 and South America in 1874. In 1883,
Reuters began to use a „Column Printer‟ to transmit messages electrically to London newspapers and in 1923, pioneered the use of radio to transmit news internationally. In 1927, it introduced the teleprinter to distribute news to London newspapers. During both World Wars, Reuters came under pressure from the British government to serve British purposes. In 1941, it deflected this pressure by restructuring itself as a private company. Reuters continued to modernize rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century. The introduction of a succession of computerized products for international traders transformed the business. The Stockmaster service (1964), which transmitted financial data internationally, quickly proved a success and began this transformation. In 1973, a further innovative development was the launch of the Reuters Monitor which created an electronic marketplace for foreign exchange. This service expanded to carry news and prices covering securities, commodities, and money and was further enhanced in 1981 with the launch of the Reuter Monitor Dealing Service. Following a dramatic increase in profitability, Reuters was floated as a public company in 1984 on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ in the US. On listing, the Company had a market capitalization on some 700 million pounds. Subsequently, Reuters made a series of acquisitions, including Visnews (1985, renamed Reuters Television), Instinet (1986), TIBCO (formerly Teknekron) and Quotron (both in 1994). Reuters continued to grow rapidly, widening the range of its business products and expanding its global reporting network for media, financial and economic services. Recent key product launches include Equities 2000 (1987), Dealing 2000-2 (1992), Business Briefing (1994), Reuters Television for the financial markets (1994), 3000 series (1996) and the Reuters 3000 Xtra service (1999). Reuters announced in early 2000 a range of major initiatives designed to accelerate its use on Internet technologies, open new markets and migrate its core business to an internet-based model. In May 2001 Instinet completed an IPO on NASDAQ. In October 2001 Reuters completed the largest acquisition in its history, buying most of the assets of Bridge Information Systems. In March 2003, it acquired Multex.com, INC, provider of global financial information.
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL (UPI) United Press International (UPI) is one of the two US news agencies lying in the “Big Four”. It is owned by the News World Communications, a global multi-media company. UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps, a Jew, as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when the UP merged on May 24, 1958 with the International News Service, founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst, a Christian.
Since 1907, United Press International (UPI) has been a leading provider of critical information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide. UPI is a global operation headquartered in Washington, DC with offices in 6 cities like Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and Tokyo. It licenses content directly to print outlets, online media and institutions of all types. In addition to English reports, it provides news coverage coming out of the Middle east in Arabic and a Spanish language news report from its correspondents throughout Latin America. Clients include print publications, websites, multi-media companies, corporations, governments, and academic and policy institutions.
HISTORY OF WIRE AGENCIES
INTRODUCTION The history of news agencies, also known as wire agencies, actually begins with the coming of the telegraph and underwater cables in the mid- 19th century. The latter marked the dawning of the telecommunication age. For the first information could reliably travel faster than people. Increasingly, as global trade grew in importance, there was greater commercial value in the rapid communication of world news via the wires. In fact, the rise of wore-based international news agencies gave birth to the global media. The French Havas, German Wolff and British Reuters were commercial news agencies established in the 19th century as domestic enterprises, but with particular interest in foreign news. They produced the news and then sold it to newspaper publishers. Theses news agencies established the “Ring Combination” in the 1850s, a cartel that divided the entire world market for news production and distribution among themselves. Later, Associated Press and United Press, both established by the US newspapers too joined the cartel. These news agencies were, in fact, the global media until well in the 20th century, and even after the dawn of broadcasting their importance for global media was unsurpassed. Before the end of the World War-II, besides the shortwave broadcasting, they occupied a dominant role in global media. Then Soviet Tass had also come into being but it had little influence outside the Communist world. However, the influence of news agencies started waning with the emergence of genuinely global media in the late 20th century. In the post-World War-II period, the German Wolff news agency collapsed following its failure to recover from its affiliation with the Third Reich and The French Havas was reincarnated as the Agence France-Presse (AFP). AP and UP that became UPI in 1958 were already there. These four wire-based news agencies came to be known as the “Big Four”. The most dramatic media technology to emerge in the pre and post-World War-II period were the radio and the television. Their charisma influenced the existing media. That was why the “Big Four” too had to expand their services to include radio. Television posed a greater challenge, and for that medium a handful of specific newsfilm agencies emerged to provide TV companies and networks with international newsfilm and videotape footage. UPI allied with British commercial media broadcasting interests to form UPITN, while Reuters linked up with BBC and several other broadcasting companies to establish Visnews. Similarly, the other two international newsfilm agencies were connected to the US TV networks CBS and ABC. Meanwhile, ABC also established WorldVision, a
global commercial broadcasting network. Like the news agencies, the international newsfilm was conducted by a select group of Western forms, based in the US and UK. Later, the emergence of global satellite television led to a rearrangement of the global news industry. The “Big Four” still dominate the global print market while Reuters TV, formerly Visnews and Worldwide Television News remain the dominant global television news agencies. However, satellite television has brought into existence regional and global news channels. The most prominent is CNN International, owned by Time Warner, which reaches over 200 countries and the vast majority of the world population. Although subsidized news services like the BBC World Service and Voice of America still provide global news in numerous languages via the non-commercial and unprofitable channels of shortwave, they are battling to maintain their subsidies in a post-Cold War era. Following is a glimpse of the “Big Four”:
INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES AT A GLANCE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Agence Frances Presse (AFP) by Charles Louis Havas in 1835. Associated Press (AP) by five major newspapers in 1848. Reuters by Paul Julius Reuter in 1851. United Press International (UPI) by E.W. Scripps in 1907. Reuters TV (formerly Visnews) Worldwide Television News Worldvision
AGENCE FRANCES PRESSE (AFP) Agence Frances Presse (AFP) is the first world-wide news agency, founded at Paris in 1835 by Charles Louis Havas, the father of global journalism. Started as Agence Havas in 1835, it got its present name in 1858. Today, the agency continues to expand its operation worldwide, reaching thousands of subscribers via radio, television, newspapers and companies from its main headquarters in Paris and four regional centers in Washington, Hong Kong, Nicosia and Montevideo. Presently, Bertrand Eveno is its President, Pierre Louette, the General Director, and Pierre Taillefer, the Director of Information. According to 2005 figures, 2000 employees are associated with it. Its worldwide network spans 165 countries, 110 of which are home to bureaus, and 50 of which are covered by local correspondents. Coverage is organized through 116 bureaus around five regions, North America (Washington), Latin America (Montevideo), AsiaPacific (Hong Kong), Europe-Africa (Paris), and Middle East (Nicosia). Besides,
within France, the regional network is comprised of 7 bureaus. It is coordinated by a bureau manager based in Paris. It launched its Arabic language service from Cairo in 1969 and began using satellites for transmission. It produces each day 4-6 lakh words in text, 1000 photos and 50 news graphics.
ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) Founded in 1848, the Associated Press is the second oldest and largest news organization in the world. It serves as a source of news, photos, graphics, audio, and video for more than one billion people a day and its customers include newspapers, radio and television stations, and Internet news sites. In fact, in 1848 five major newspapers of the USA had jointly launched the AP. It took shape of an international news agency in 1900. It has bureaus in 121 countries and tailors its news and photo reports to reflect the specific regional interests of Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa and offers news in four foreign languages- French, Spanish, German, and Dutch. Agencies translate AP copy into scores of other languages, from Arabic ro Chinese. It operates as a not-for-profit cooperative with 3,700 employees working in more than 242 world-wide bureaus. Presently, 1,700 US daily, weekly, non-English and college newspapers, 5,000 radio/TV outlets, 1000 AP radio network affiliates, 330 international broadcasters, 8,500 international subscribers receive its services. AP has received 48 Pulitzer prizes, including 29 photo Pulitzers REUTERS Reuters is one of the “Big Four” international news agencies. Out of the four, it is the only British news agency. In October 1851, Paul Julius Reuter, a German-born immigrant, opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Calais-Dover cable. Two years earlier, he had used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service which operated for a year until the gap in the telegraph link was closed. Reuters, as the agency soon became known, eventually extended its service to the whole British press as well as to other European countries. It also expanded the content to include general and economic news from all around the world. The reputation of its service was enhanced by a succession of reporting scoops. For example, in 1865, Reuters was first in Europe with the news of President Lincoln’s assassination in the US. As overland telegraph and undersea cable facilities developed, the business expanded beyond Europe to include the Far East in 1872 and South America in 1874. In 1883,
Reuters began to use a „Column Printer‟ to transmit messages electrically to London newspapers and in 1923, pioneered the use of radio to transmit news internationally. In 1927, it introduced the teleprinter to distribute news to London newspapers. During both World Wars, Reuters came under pressure from the British government to serve British purposes. In 1941, it deflected this pressure by restructuring itself as a private company. Reuters continued to modernize rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century. The introduction of a succession of computerized products for international traders transformed the business. The Stockmaster service (1964), which transmitted financial data internationally, quickly proved a success and began this transformation. In 1973, a further innovative development was the launch of the Reuters Monitor which created an electronic marketplace for foreign exchange. This service expanded to carry news and prices covering securities, commodities, and money and was further enhanced in 1981 with the launch of the Reuter Monitor Dealing Service. Following a dramatic increase in profitability, Reuters was floated as a public company in 1984 on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ in the US. On listing, the Company had a market capitalization on some 700 million pounds. Subsequently, Reuters made a series of acquisitions, including Visnews (1985, renamed Reuters Television), Instinet (1986), TIBCO (formerly Teknekron) and Quotron (both in 1994). Reuters continued to grow rapidly, widening the range of its business products and expanding its global reporting network for media, financial and economic services. Recent key product launches include Equities 2000 (1987), Dealing 2000-2 (1992), Business Briefing (1994), Reuters Television for the financial markets (1994), 3000 series (1996) and the Reuters 3000 Xtra service (1999). Reuters announced in early 2000 a range of major initiatives designed to accelerate its use on Internet technologies, open new markets and migrate its core business to an internet-based model. In May 2001 Instinet completed an IPO on NASDAQ. In October 2001 Reuters completed the largest acquisition in its history, buying most of the assets of Bridge Information Systems. In March 2003, it acquired Multex.com, INC, provider of global financial information.
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL (UPI) United Press International (UPI) is one of the two US news agencies lying in the “Big Four”. It is owned by the News World Communications, a global multi-media company. UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps, a Jew, as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when the UP merged on May 24, 1958 with the International News Service, founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst, a Christian.
Since 1907, United Press International (UPI) has been a leading provider of critical information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide. UPI is a global operation headquartered in Washington, DC with offices in 6 cities like Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and Tokyo. It licenses content directly to print outlets, online media and institutions of all types. In addition to English reports, it provides news coverage coming out of the Middle east in Arabic and a Spanish language news report from its correspondents throughout Latin America. Clients include print publications, websites, multi-media companies, corporations, governments, and academic and policy institutions.
