Associated Press

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Associated Press was formed in May 1846 by five daily newspapers in New York City to share the cost of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War. The venture was organized by Moses Yale Beach, second publisher of The Sun, joined by the New York Herald, the New York Courier and Enquirer, The Journal of Commerce, and the New York Evening Express. Some historians believe the New-York Tribune joined at this time; documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member in September 1851. Initially known as the New York Associated Press (NYAP), it faced competition from the Western Associated Press (1862), which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices. An investigation completed in 1892 by Victor Lawson, editor and publisher of the Chicago Daily News, revealed that several principals of the NYAP entered into a secret agreement with United Press to share NYAP news and the profits of reselling it. The findings led to the dissolving of the NYAP. That December, the Western Associated Press was incorporated in Illinois as the Associated Press. A 1900 Illinois Supreme Court decision (Inter Ocean Publishing Co. v. Associated Press) holding that the AP was a public utility and operating in restraint of trade resulted in the AP's move from Chicago to New York City, where corporation laws were more favorable to cooperatives.

Reader's Guide

The Associated Press has played a central role in American and global journalism since its founding in 1846. Its cooperative structure, where member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local reports, has enabled widespread news sharing. The AP's technological innovations, such as the Wirephoto network in 1935 and the teleprinter in 1914, revolutionized news distribution. It has earned 60 Pulitzer Prizes, including 36 for photography. By 2016, its news was published by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters, and as of 2025, it attracts over 128 million monthly website visits, making it one of the top 10 news websites in the U.S. The AP also operates the AP Radio Network, publishes in English, Spanish, and Arabic, and runs 235 news bureaus in 94 countries. Its election polls and results are widely used during U.S. elections. In June 2024, Axios reported that the AP would be launching a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the goal of expanding state and local news, hoping to raise at least $100 million in philanthropic funds to address the 'crisis in local news.'

Did You Know?

• The first photograph transmitted over the AP Wirephoto network in 1935 depicted an airplane crash in Morehouse, New York, on New Year's Day.
• AP war correspondent Joseph Morton was the only Allied correspondent executed by the Axis during World War II, killed at Mauthausen concentration camp in 1945.
• In 1899, the AP used Guglielmo Marconi's wireless telegraph to cover the America's Cup yacht race off Sandy Hook, New Jersey—the first news test of the new technology.
• The AP's first female member, Zell Hart Deming, joined the cooperative in 1928.
• A 2017 study by NewsWhip revealed that AP content was more engaged with on Facebook than content from any individual English-language publisher.

Origins in Shared Cost and Rivalry

The AP was born in May 1846 when five New York City dailies—The Sun, the New York Herald, the New York Courier and Enquirer, The Journal of Commerce, and the New York Evening Express—decided to pool resources to cover the Mexican–American War. Moses Yale Beach, second publisher of The Sun, organized the venture, and the New York Times joined in September 1851. What began as a local cost-sharing arrangement quickly drew scrutiny. The Western Associated Press, founded in 1862, challenged the original group's monopolistic news-gathering and price-setting practices. An 1892 investigation by Victor Lawson of the Chicago Daily News uncovered a secret deal between NYAP principals and United Press to share news and reselling profits, leading to the NYAP's dissolution. The Western AP was then incorporated in Illinois in December 1892. A 1900 Illinois Supreme Court ruling that the AP operated as a restraint of trade forced a relocation to New York, where cooperative laws were more permissive.

Building a Global Wire

Under Kent Cooper's leadership from 1925 to 1948, the AP transformed from a regional operation into a worldwide news force, expanding bureau staff across South America, Europe, and the Middle East after World War II. Cooper also lobbied at the League of Nations in 1927 to renegotiate the tripartite agreement binding the AP alongside Reuters and Havas, seeking a stronger competitive position. In 1935, the AP launched Wirephoto, transmitting news photographs over leased private telephone lines the day they were taken—initially linking New York, Chicago, and San Francisco before expanding nationwide. The organization entered broadcasting in 1941, distributing news to radio stations, and created its own radio network in 1974. By 1994, APTV was established as a global video newsgathering agency, later merging with Worldwide Television News in 1998 to form APTN. Today, the AP operates 235 bureaus across 94 countries, publishing in English, Spanish, and Arabic, with content republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters.

A Standard of American Journalism

Since the Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917, the AP has accumulated 60 of the nation's most prestigious journalism honors, including 36 awarded specifically for photography. Beyond awards, the AP has become an institutional fixture in American media culture. Its AP Stylebook, used by journalists nationwide, sets the grammatical and formatting conventions for news writing. The organization's AP polls tracking NCAA sports and its election polls and results during U.S. elections have become the definitive sources cited across the country. The AP also sponsors the National Football League's annual awards. As of 2025, the AP draws more than 128 million monthly website visits, placing it among the top ten news websites in the United States. Web portals like Yahoo! and MSN have long relied on AP articles as a first source for breaking news, reinforcing the organization's role as a foundational layer of American information infrastructure.

Navigating the Digital Disruption

The AP's revenue model has undergone a dramatic transformation. By 2007, only about 30 percent of its income came from U.S. newspapers, and by 2024 that figure had fallen to just 10 percent. In its place, global broadcast customers now account for 37 percent of revenue, online ventures contribute 15 percent, and international newspapers plus photography make up 18 percent. The cooperative structure—where member news organizations grant the AP automatic permission to distribute their local reports—has had to adapt as the digital landscape reshapes news consumption. In March 2024, Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by daily circulation, announced it would stop using AP content effective March 25, 2024. The AP called the decision shocking and disappointing. McClatchy followed by dropping some AP services, though both chains continued using AP election results data. The organization's core mission of gathering and distributing news has remained constant since 1846, but the channels and customers through which that news travels have fundamentally changed.