EOTO 3 (Wire Services)

 Wire Services

Wire services also known as news agencies, news cooperatives, and news services were established in the United States sometime during the mid-nineteenth century to gather and distribute news for the local newspaper. They tend to mainly provide different news reports to media outlets as well as requiring little to no editing or cutting.

Established in the earlier ages of electronic communication, this was mostly done through the telegraph which helped with aiding in their expansion. They were originally organized to have a greater efficiency with gathering different types of news. Throughout the 1860s to the 1880s, regional wire services were quite strong, but after the 1880s, it then cemented itself into a national system.

Evolution

Technology is constantly changing and evolving as it always has, and it always will. The late 1940s brought the introduction of Teletypesetter machines which would allow stories from agencies to be put in the form of perforated paper tape, which would then be fed into machines without human operators. As agencies began to grow and expand, there needed to be fresh/new innovative ways to transmit accurate data and news to communities. While using these Typesetters to save labor, publishers ceded to the agencies some of their editing prerogative, thereby standardizing usage and writing style in newspaper stories. As technology changed, we shifted away from telegraphs and later moved to newspapers and magazines. Newspapers moved from linotype to photo composition in the late 1960s to 1970s. Information is now transmitted by satellite service or the internet of course. There was a global shift that occurred as well as advertising and public relations being a factor. Most news agencies also offer their clients photographs, news analyses, and special features; for radio and television stations they transmit news-broadcast scripts, video, and programming. Since the advent of computer technology, many news services have become available online, and their products are also available for mobile phones and other devices.

Notable People

Throughout the course of the 19th century, Charles Louis Havas, Paul Reuter, and Bernhard Wolff all aided in revolutionizing mass communication by creating wire services that would utilize the telegraph to transmit information. Havas was actually the first to use the telegraph when it arrived in France back in 1845. Reuter and Wolff were Havas employees that founded two major telegraphic agencies. Havas was the founder of the first news agency (Agence France-Presse) along with being the founder of the advertising firm “Havas.” Paul Reuter went on to found the “Reuters News Agency." Bernhard Wolff was the editor of the Vossische Zeitung and the founder of the National Zeitung, and Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau.

    

Wire Service in The Associated Press

The Associated Press is the oldest and largest 24 hour service which began in 1820. The main purpose at the time was to report news to New York from Europe. Shifting to 1848, the press really took off after the telegraph was incorporated into their spread of news. They continued to stay up to date with the times as they changed and technology evolved, and in 1935 they created wirephoto which was the first wire service for photographers.

More Information

During the 20th century, news became available to the public through a variety of different ways. We were able to receive news through, newspapers and magazines, radio, tv, and through the internet. When the same news topic is on all of these different services the story remains pretty much exact. This is due to the wire service distributing the stories to each platform. Newswire services, the associated press and united press international are trying to step up with game and are now offering customised services to meet individual stations needs. Because of this, the wireservices have been receiving backlash due to increasing their rates. This is what happens as new advances are made, more money is needed. These agencies are not stopping anytime soon and The United Press International is looking to get into the video news service . It will be interesting to see how much more the wire service will evolve.