- Press Association
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The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally. It was founded in 1868 by a consortium of provincial newspaper proprietors as a co-operative in order to supply news items from across the country to its members. It has offices around the UK and Ireland including London, Nottingham (photographic department) and Howden and has over 200 correspondents throughout Britain.
It is part of the PA Group which includes subsidiaries that specialise in coverage and data of sport, entertainment and business. In turn the Press Association has two subsidiaries, the Scottish Press Association and the Press Association of Ireland (covering Northern and the Republic of Ireland).
The Press Association produces over 100 stories on weekdays.[1] The choice of stories by the Press Association has a large impact on coverage in UK media. A study to quantify this found that 70% of UK news articles in the five most notable quality London based newspapers were largely influenced by the Press Association's copy (or the few other much smaller agencies in the UK). 30% of stories were simple copies.[2] It is also considered a highly trusted source by organisations such as the BBC which treats it as "a confirmed, single source".[3]
Contents
History
The Press Association was started in 1868 by a group of regional newspaper owners to provide a London-based service of news-collecting and reporting from around the British Isles. The story goes, they came up with idea in the back of a Hansom Cab during a traffic jam as a result of London smog. The news agency’s founders wanted more accurate and reliable news, delivered quicker than the telegraph companies. When it was set up the committee who organised it said “The Press Association is formed on the principle of co-operation and can never be worked for individual profit, or become exclusive in its character”.
Today, the Press Association says its mantra is fast, fair and accurate. The company has gone from a news and sport supplier to traditional media, to a digital organisation that supplies news, sport, images, weather and many other services to numbers of different customers.
A full history of the Press Association was written by Chris Moncrieff, CBE, the former Political Editor of the Press Association in 2001 called "Living on a Deadline."
Board of directors
- Murdoch MacLennan (Chairman, PA Group)
- Clive Marshall (Chief Executive, PA Group)
- Steven Brown (Finance Director, PA Group)
- Tony Watson (Managing Director, Press Association)
- Jennie Campbell (Managing Director, MeteoGroup)
- Sly Bailey (Chief Executive, Trinity Mirror)
- Kevin Beatty
- Rebekah Brooks (Chief Executive, News International)
- Alan Crosbie
- Adrian Jeakings
- Daily Mail and General Trust
- News International
- United Business Media plc
- Trinity Mirror plc
- Guardian Media Group
- The Telegraph Group
- Johnston Press
- Archant
- DC Thomson
- Midland News Association
- Thomas Crosbie & Co
See also
References
- ^ Davies, Nick (2008). ""chapter 3"". Flat Earth News.
- ^ The Quality & Independence of British Journalism, MediaWatch, February 2008]
- ^ Notice by BBC Journalism board, 1 December 2004
External links
Categories:- News agencies based in the United Kingdom
- Co-operatives in the United Kingdom
- British media
- 1868 establishments in the United Kingdom
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