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A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. News agencies are known for their press releases. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, or news service.

Reuters, Bonn 1988

Although there are many news agencies around the world, three global news agencies, Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Associated Press (AP), and Reuters have offices in most countries of the world, cover all areas of media, and provide the majority of international news printed by the world's newspapers.[1] All three began with and continue to operate on a basic philosophy of providing a single objective news feed to all subscribers. Jonathan Fenby explains the philosophy:

To achieve such wide acceptability, the agencies avoid overt partiality. Demonstrably correct information is their stock in trade. Traditionally, they report at a reduced level of responsibility, attributing their information to a spokesman, the press, or other sources. They avoid making judgments and steer clear of doubt and ambiguity. Though their founders did not use the word, objectivity is the philosophical basis for their enterprises – or failing that, widely acceptable neutrality.[2]

Newspaper syndicates generally sell their material to one client in each territory only, while news agencies distribute news articles to all interested parties.

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History

Only a few large newspapers could afford bureaus outside their home city; they relied instead on news agencies, especially Havas (founded 1835) in France—now known as Agence France-Presse (AFP)—and the Associated Press (founded 1846) in the United States. Former Havas employees founded Reuters in 1851 in Britain and Wolff in 1849 in Germany.[3] In 1865, Reuter and Wolff signed agreements with Havas's sons, forming a cartel designating exclusive reporting zones for each of their agencies within Europe.[4] For international news, the agencies pooled their resources, so that Havas, for example, covered the French Empire, South America and the Balkans and shared the news with the other national agencies. In France the typical contract with Havas provided a provincial newspaper with 1800 lines of telegraphed text daily, for an annual subscription rate of 10,000 francs. Other agencies provided features and fiction for their subscribers.[5]

In the 1830s, France had several specialized agencies. Agence Havas was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas, to supply news about France to foreign customers. In the 1840s, Havas gradually incorporated other French agencies into his agency. Agence Havas evolved into Agence France-Presse (AFP).[6] Two of his employees, Bernhard Wolff and Paul Julius Reuter, later set up rival news agencies, Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau in 1849 in Berlin and Reuters in 1851 in London. Guglielmo Stefani founded the Agenzia Stefani, which became the most important press agency in Italy from the mid-19th century to World War II, in Turin in 1853.

The development of the telegraph in the 1850s led to the creation of strong national agencies in England, Germany, Austria and the United States. But despite the efforts of governments, through telegraph laws such as in 1878 in France, inspired by the British Telegraph Act of 1869 which paved the way for the nationalisation of telegraph companies and their operations, the cost of telegraphy remained high.

In the United States, the judgment in Inter Ocean Publishing v. Associated Press facilitated competition by requiring agencies to accept all newspapers wishing to join. As a result of the increasing newspapers, the Associated Press was now challenged by the creation of United Press Associations in 1907 and International News Service by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

Driven by the huge U.S. domestic market, boosted by the runaway success of radio, all three major agencies required the dismantling of the "cartel agencies" through the Agreement of 26 August 1927. They were concerned about the success of U.S. agencies from other European countries which sought to create national agencies after the First World War. Reuters had been weakened by war censorship, which promoted the creation of newspaper cooperatives in the Commonwealth and national agencies in Asia, two of its strong areas.

After the Second World War, the movement for the creation of national agencies accelerated, when accessing the independence of former colonies, the national agencies were operated by the state. Reuters, became cooperative, managed a breakthrough in finance, and helped to reduce the number of U.S. agencies from three to one, along with the internationalization of the Spanish EFE and the globalization of Agence France-Presse.

In 1924, Benito Mussolini placed Agenzia Stefani under the direction of Manlio Morgagni, who expanded the agency's reach significantly both within Italy and abroad. Agenzia Stefani was dissolved in 1945, and its technical structure and organization were transferred to the new Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA). Wolffs was taken over by the Nazi regime in 1934.[7] The German Press Agency (dpa) in Germany was founded as a co-operative in Goslar on 18 August 1949 and became a limited liability company in 1951. Fritz Sänger was the first editor-in-chief. He served as managing director until 1955 and as managing editor until 1959. The first transmission occurred at 6 a.m. on 1 September 1949.[8]

Since the 1960s, the major agencies were provided with new opportunities in television and magazine, and news agencies delivered specialized production of images and photos, the demand for which is constantly increasing. In France, for example, they account for over two-thirds of national market.[9]

By the 1980s, the four main news agencies, AFP, AP, UPI and Reuters, provided over 90% of foreign news printed by newspapers around the world.[10]

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Commercial services

News agencies can be corporations that sell news (e.g., PA Media, Thomson Reuters, dpa and United Press International). Other agencies work cooperatively with large media companies, generating their news centrally and sharing local news stories the major news agencies may choose to pick up and redistribute (e.g., Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP) or the Indian news agency PTI).

Governments may also control news agencies: China (Xinhua), Russia (TASS), and several other countries have government-funded news agencies which also use information from other agencies as well.[11]

Commercial newswire services charge businesses to distribute their news (e.g., Business Wire, GlobeNewswire, PR Newswire, PR Web, and Cision).

The major news agencies generally prepare hard news stories and feature articles that can be used by other news organizations with little or no modification, and then sell them to other news organizations. They provide these articles in bulk electronically through wire services (originally they used telegraphy; today they frequently use the Internet). Corporations, individuals, analysts, and intelligence agencies may also subscribe.

News sources, collectively, described as alternative media provide reporting which emphasizes a self-defined "non-corporate view" as a contrast to the points of view expressed in corporate media and government-generated news releases. Internet-based alternative news agencies form one component of these sources.

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Associations

There are several different associations of news agencies. EANA is the European Alliance of Press Agencies, while the OANA is an association of news agencies of the Asia-Pacific region. MINDS is a global network of leading news agencies collaborating in new media business.

List of major news agencies

More information Name, Abbrev. ...
NameAbbrev.Country
Adnkronos Italy
Agence France-PresseAFP France
Agência BrasilABR Brazil
Agencia EFEEFE Spain
Agenția de Presă RADOR (National Radio)Rador Romania
Agenția Română de PresăAGERPRES Romania
Agenzia Giornalistica ItaliaAGI Italy
Agenzia Nazionale Stampa AssociataANSA Italy
AKIpress News Agency Kyrgyzstan
Algemeen Nederlands PersbureauANP Netherlands
Algeria Press ServiceAPS Algeria
Anadolu AgencyAA Turkey
Andina Peru
Antara Indonesia
Armenpress Armenia
Asian News InternationalANI India
Associated PressAP United States
Associated Press of PakistanAPP Pakistan
Athens-Macedonian News AgencyAMNA Greece
Australian Associated PressAAP Australia
Austria Presse AgenturAPA Austria
Azerbaijan State Telegraph AgencyAzerTAc Azerbaijan
Bahrain News AgencyBNA Bahrain
Bakhtar News Agency Afghanistan
Baltic News ServiceBNS Estonia
Bangladesh Sangbad ShangsthaBSS Bangladesh
BelgaBELGA Belgium
Beta News Agency Serbia
Bloomberg News United States
BNO News Netherlands
Bulgarian Telegraph AgencyBTA Bulgaria
The Canadian PressCP Canada
Caribbean Media CorporationCMC Barbados
CCTV+ China
Central News AgencyCNA Taiwan
China News ServiceCNS China
Croatian News AgencyHINA Croatia
Czech News AgencyČTK Czech Republic
Demirören News AgencyDHA Turkey
Deutsche Presse-AgenturDPA Germany
Dow Jones Newswires United States
Emirates News AgencyWAM United Arab Emirates
European Pressphoto AgencyEPA Europe
Fars News AgencyFNA Iran
Islamic Consultative Assembly News AgencyICANA Iran
İhlas News AgencyIHA Turkey
Islamic Republic News AgencyIRNA Iran
Iranian Students' News AgencyISNA Iran
Indo-Asian News ServiceIANS India
Interfax Russia
Inter Press ServiceIPS Italy
Jewish Telegraphic AgencyJTA United States
Jiji Press Japan
Kenya News AgencyKNA Kenya
Korean Central News AgencyKCNA North Korea
Kyodo News Japan
Lankapuvath Sri Lanka
Lao News AgencyKPL Laos
Lusa News AgencyLUSA Portugal
Maghreb Arabe PresseMAP Morocco
Magyar Távirati IrodaMTI Hungary
Malaysian National News AgencyBERNAMA Malaysia
Namibia Press AgencyNAMPA Namibia
National Iraqi News AgencyNINA Iraq
New Zealand Press AssociationNZPA New Zealand
News Agency of NigeriaNAN Nigeria
Norsk TelegrambyråNTB Norway
Notimex Mexico
Pacnews New Zealand
Pakistan Press InternationalPPI Pakistan
PanARMENIAN.NetPAN Armenia
Philippine News AgencyPNA Philippines
Polska Agencja PrasowaPAP Poland
PA MediaPA United Kingdom
Pressclub Information AgencyPIA Bulgaria
Press Trust of IndiaPTI India
Qatar News AgencyQNA Qatar
Reuters United Kingdom
Ritzaus BureauRitzau Denmark
Rossiya Segodnya Russia
Ruptly Russia
Russian News Agency TASSTASS Russia
Saba News Agency or Yemen News AgencySABA Yemen
Saudi Press AgencySPA Saudi Arabia
Schweizerische DepeschenagenturSDA Switzerland
Slovenian Press AgencySTA Slovenia
Suomen TietotoimistoSTT Finland
Syrian Arab News AgencySANA Syria
TahitipresseATP French Polynesia
Tanjug Tačno Serbia
Telenoticiosa AmericanaTELAM Argentina
Tidningarnas TelegrambyråTT Sweden
Turkmenistan State News AgencyTDH Turkmenistan
United News of IndiaUNI India
United News of BangladeshUNB Bangladesh
United Press InternationalUPI United States
World Entertainment News NetworkWENN United Kingdom
Vietnam News AgencyVNA Vietnam
Via News AgencyVIANEWS Portugal
Xinhua News AgencyXINHUA China
Yonhap News AgencyYONHAP South Korea
ZUMA Press United States
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List of commercial newswire services

See also

References

Further reading

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