Associated Press

Associated Press. The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, owned by its contributing newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in the United States. It is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying content to thousands of international media outlets and commercial customers globally. The agency is renowned for its extensive network of journalists and its influential stylebook, which sets standards for news writing across the industry.

History

The agency was formed in May 1846 by five New York City newspapers—the New York Sun, the New-York Tribune, the New York Herald, the New York Journal of Commerce, and the Courier and Enquirer—to share the costs of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War via pony express and telegraph. This cooperative model distinguished it from rival agencies like United Press. It incorporated as the Associated Press in Illinois in 1892. Under leaders like Kent Cooper, it expanded globally, opening bureaus in Europe and Latin America, and pioneered the use of wirephoto technology in 1935. The Supreme Court of the United States bolstered its operations with a pivotal 1945 ruling in Associated Press v. United States, which curbed restrictive membership practices. Major events it has covered include both World War I and World War II, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the September 11 attacks.

Operations and structure

As a cooperative, it is owned by its U.S. member news organizations, which contribute stories and fund its operations. Its governance includes a board of directors composed of industry executives. The news division is led by an executive editor overseeing a global staff of reporters and editors. Its core service is the AP wire, a continuous feed of text, photo, audio, and video content distributed to subscribers. Major operational hubs include its headquarters in New York City, a national reporting center in Washington, D.C., and key international hubs in London, Bangkok, and Cairo. It maintains hundreds of bureaus across more than 100 countries, including major posts in Beijing, Moscow, and Jerusalem. Subsidiaries like AP Radio and AP Television News provide broadcast content, while AP Images is a major commercial photo archive.

Stylebook and journalism standards

The Associated Press Stylebook is the definitive grammar, punctuation, and usage guide for American journalism and corporate communication. First published in 1953, it is frequently updated to address evolving language and technology. The guide mandates clarity, brevity, and consistency, providing rules on topics ranging from state abbreviations to the capitalization of job titles. Its standards for reporting are built on principles of accuracy, fairness, and impartiality. Reporters are trained to avoid first-person narrative and unsupported adjectival language, adhering strictly to factual, sourced reporting. The stylebook's influence extends beyond members to public relations firms, magazines, and university journalism programs worldwide.

Notable controversies and criticisms

The agency has faced several significant controversies over its long history. During the Red Scare, it was accused of employing journalists with alleged ties to communist organizations. Its coverage of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has been frequently criticized by both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian advocacy groups for perceived bias. In 2017, it drew scrutiny for its early call of the Alabama Senate special election for Doug Jones. A major ethical breach occurred in 2021 when an investigation found a reporter had plagiarized material from other news outlets. It has also been criticized for its enforcement of strict copyright rules on its content, including legal actions against entities like Shepard Fairey over his Barack Obama "Hope" poster and the Drudge Report for headline linking.

Impact and legacy

Its impact on global journalism is profound, having set the benchmark for speed, accuracy, and breadth of news coverage for over 175 years. Its cooperative structure has served as a model for other news agencies, including Reuters and Agence France-Presse. The phrase "according to the Associated Press" is a ubiquitous signifier of factual reporting in media worldwide. It has won over 50 Pulitzer Prizes, including for investigative work on Vietnam War atrocities and the New York Police Department surveillance of Muslim communities. Its photography division has captured iconic images of events like the Hindenburg disaster, D-Day, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The agency continues to shape the digital media landscape through innovations in automated reporting and data journalism. Category:News agencies Category:Mass media in the United States Category:Companies based in New York City