Each day the majority of our news is provided by reporters from news agencies around the world. This global network of news bureaus allows for dissemination of breaking news at a moment’s notice. It’s really quite amazing and so is the history of some of the top news agencies. I looked at three: Associated Press, Reuters, and BBC News. Each present their history similarly and focus on the changes in news over the years.
Reuters says they’re there for historical events “from Abraham Lincoln’s assination to the death of Gandhi.” BBC has a presentation online called “Marconi to MP3.” Marconi lead the way to the 2LO, the first BBC transmitter. Looking at the age of these news organizations is amazing when you think about the experience and integrity they have formed as well as the changes in transmission of news.
The Associated Press
The AP is the largest news organization in the world since it is a collective of many news agencies. It is the oldest, founded in 1846, begun with six newspapers. There are 242 bureaus worldwide and they serve 121 countries and report in 5 languages.
Reuters
Reuters began with two pigeons flying stock prices between Aachen and Brussels. As the largest international multimedia news agency, they are located in 89 countries (196 bureaus) and serve 209 countries in 18 languages.
BBC News
The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcast news organization in the world with 48 newsgathering bureaus. BBC World Service broadcasts in 33 different languages and produces an average of 120 hours of news programming every day.
It began simply with transmission of news via telegraph and now it’s by RSS feeds and MP3s. Do you have a favorite source of news?
