History of Associated Press in Timeline
The Associated Press (AP) is a non-profit American news agency founded in 1846 and headquartered in New York City. It operates as a cooperative, providing news reports to its members, including major U.S. newspapers, radio, and television broadcasters. The AP has won 59 Pulitzer Prizes since 1917, with 36 being for photography. It is known for the AP Stylebook, AP polls tracking NCAA sports, sponsoring NFL awards, and providing election polls and results.
1914: Teletype Adoption
In 1914, the AP adopted teletype for its New York service.
1917: Pulitzer Prizes
Since the award was established in 1917, the AP has earned 59 Pulitzer Prizes, including 36 for photography.
1925: Kent Cooper's Leadership
In 1925, Kent Cooper began his leadership of the AP, serving until 1948 and expanding its presence globally.
1927: League of Nations Lobbying
In 1927, Kent Cooper lobbied for the renegotiation of the tripartite contract at the League of Nations, seeking a more important role for the AP.
1935: Wirephoto Network Launch
In 1935, the AP launched the Wirephoto network, enabling the transmission of news photographs over private telephone lines.
1936: College Football Rankings Created
In 1936, the AP college football rankings were created.
1941: Broadcast Field Entry
In 1941, the AP entered the broadcast field, beginning to distribute news to radio stations.
1944: Stockholm Bureau Exchange
From 1944, the AP bureau in Stockholm was used as a cover for exchanging photos between the enemies in World War II.
1945: Supreme Court Ruling
In 1945, the Supreme Court ruled in Associated Press v. United States that the AP had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
1948: Kent Cooper Leaves AP
In 1948, Kent Cooper ended his leadership of the AP, after serving since 1925 and expanding its presence globally.
1949: College Basketball Poll Began
In 1949, the AP first began its poll of college basketball teams.
1953: First Publicly Available Edition
In 1953, the first publicly available edition of the AP Stylebook was published.
1959: MLB Manager of the Year Award
In 1959, the AP began its Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award, for a manager in each league.
1960: Poll Reduced to 10 Teams
During the 1960-61 college basketball season, the AP college basketball poll was reduced to 10 teams.
1968: Poll Returned to 20 Teams
In 1968-69, the AP college basketball poll returned to 20 teams.
1969: Final Poll After Bowl Games
Since 1969, the final AP college football poll of each season has been released after all bowl games have been played.
1974: Radio Network Creation
In 1974, the AP created its own radio network.
August 1977: First Modern Edition Published
In August 1977, the first modern edition of the AP Stylebook was published by Lorenz Press.
1984: One Manager Awarded in MLB
From 1984 to 2000, the AP MLB Manager of the Year award was given to one manager in all of MLB.
1989: Top 25 Teams Included
In 1989, the AP college football rankings began including the top 25 teams.
1989: Poll Expanded to 25 Teams
In 1989-90, the AP college basketball poll expanded to 25 teams.
1994: Associated Press Television (APTV) Founded
In 1994, London-based Associated Press Television (APTV) was founded to provide agency news material to television broadcasters.
1994: APTV Establishment
In 1994, the Associated Press established APTV, a global video newsgathering agency.
1998: APTV and WTN Merge
In 1998, APTV merged with Worldwide Television News to form APTN.
1998: AP purchased Worldwide Television News (WTN)
In 1998, the AP purchased Worldwide Television News (WTN) from the ABC News division of The Walt Disney Company, Nine Network Australia and ITN London.
September 29, 2000: Misidentified Photograph
On September 29, 2000, the AP published a photograph with an inaccurate caption during the Second Intifada, misidentifying a Jewish yeshiva student as a Palestinian and misrepresenting the event.
2000: One Manager Awarded in MLB
Until 2000, the AP MLB Manager of the Year award was given to one manager in all of MLB.
2001: Award Discontinued
In 2001, the AP's Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award was discontinued.
2003: Live Video News Service Launched
The AP was the first news agency to launch a live video news service in 2003.
2004: Headquarters Relocation
In 2004, the AP moved its headquarters from 50 Rockefeller Plaza to 450 West 33rd Street in Manhattan.
2007: Revenue Diversification
By 2007, only about 30% of the AP's revenue came from United States newspapers, as the agency diversified its news gathering capabilities.
2007: Google Partnership
In 2007, Google announced it was paying to receive AP content for display in Google News.
2008: Israel's Fault
In 2008, Mark Lavie claimed that the editorial line of the Cairo bureau was that the conflict was Israel's fault and the Arabs and Palestinians were blameless.
2009: Licensing Dispute with Google
In late 2009, a licensing dispute interrupted the partnership between Google and AP.
2010: Google Partnership Resumes
In mid-2010, the partnership between Google and AP resumed after a licensing dispute.
2016: Video Output
As of 2016, the AP publishes 70,000 videos and 6,000 hours of live video per year.
2016: All-Time Top 25 Released
In 2016, the AP released its all-time Top 25 college football teams.
2017: Facebook Engagement
A 2017 study by NewsWhip revealed that AP content had higher engagement on Facebook than any individual English-language publisher.
2017: Number One Teams
As of 2017, 22 different programs had finished in the number one spot of the AP college football poll since its inception.
2017: Top 100 Teams of All Time
In 2017, the AP released a list of the Top 100 college basketball teams of all time.
2017: Nazi Government Deal
In 2017, the deal between the AP and the Nazi government related to the interchange of press photos during World War II came to wider attention.
2018: AP VoteCast Introduction
In 2018, the AP introduced AP VoteCast, a new system developed with NORC at the University of Chicago, to enhance data reliability and address biases in exit polls.
April 2022: Gracia C. Martore Appointed Chairperson
Since April 2022, Gracia C. Martore, former president and CEO of Tegna, Inc., has served as the chairperson of the AP's board of directors.
March 2024: Gannett stops using AP content
In March 2024, Gannett announced they would no longer use content from the AP.
March 25, 2024: Gannett discontinues AP content usage
Effective March 25, 2024, Gannett discontinued using content from the AP.
June 2024: Nonprofit Launch
In June 2024, Axios reported that the AP would be launching a nonprofit aimed at expanding state and local news, with a fundraising goal of $100 million.
2024: Revenue Decline from US Newspapers
By 2024, revenue from US newspapers had declined to 10% of the AP's revenue.
February 2025: Reporters Barred from White House Events
In February 2025, two AP reporters were barred from covering several events at the White House due to a disagreement over terminology.
