History of News in Timeline

News encompasses current events communicated through various media, including word of mouth, print, postal services, broadcasting, and electronic channels. It relies on observers and witnesses to relay information. The term 'hard news' is sometimes used to distinguish it from softer forms of media content.

1900: Wolff, Havas, and Reuters form a news cartel

Around 1900, Wolff, Havas, and Reuters formed a news cartel, dividing up the global market into three sections, in which each had more-or-less exclusive distribution rights and relationships with national agencies. Each agency's area corresponded roughly to the colonial sphere of its mother country.

1902: Britain and U.S. begin circumtelegraphy

In 1902, Britain and the U.S. began the circumtelegraphy of the planet with transpacific cables from Canada to Fiji and New Zealand (British Empire), and from the US to Hawaii and the occupied Philippines.

1903: Britain and U.S. complete circumtelegraphy

In 1903, Britain and the U.S. completed the circumtelegraphy of the planet with transpacific cables from Canada to Fiji and New Zealand (British Empire), and from the US to Hawaii and the occupied Philippines.

1904: James Joyce's Ulysses represents newspaper office as part of life

In 1904, James Joyce's Ulysses derived from the newspapers of June 16 (and thereabouts) and represents the newspaper office itself as a vital part of life in Dublin.

Ulysses

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1904: Wire services open relations with Vestnik

In 1904, the big three wire services opened relations with Vestnik, the news agency of Czarist Russia, to their group, though they maintained their own reporters in Moscow.

September 1918: Lenin instructs Soviet press to cut back on political rambling

In a 20 September 1918 Pravda editorial, Lenin instructed the Soviet press to cut back on their political rambling and produce many short anticapitalist news items in "telegraph style".

1920: Radio expands rapidly across the continent

Radio expanded rapidly across the continent from 30 stations in 1920 to a thousand in the 1930s. This operation was financed mostly with advertising and public relations money.

1922: British Broadcasting Company begins transmitting radio news

In 1922, The British Broadcasting Company began transmitting radio news from London, dependent entirely, by law, on the British news agencies.

May 1926: BBC gains importance during general strike

The BBC gained importance in May 1926 during the general strike, during which newspapers were closed and the radio served as the only source of news for an uncertain public. The BBC took an unambiguously pro-government stance against the strikers.

1926: RCA's Radio Group establishes NBC

In 1926, in the US, RCA's Radio Group established its radio network, NBC. The Paley family founded CBS soon after.

1929: Soviet Union begins international broadcasting operation

In 1929, the Soviet Union began a major international broadcasting operation, with stations in German, English and French.

1931: Chinese Communist Party creates Red China News Agency

In 1931, the Chinese Communist Party created its news agency, the Red China News Agency; its primary responsibilities were the Red China newspaper and the internal Reference News.

1933: Radio broadcasters negotiate arrangement with the press

Radio broadcasters in the United States negotiated an arrangement with the press in 1933, when they agreed to use only news from the Press–Radio Bureau and eschew advertising; this agreement soon collapsed and radio stations began reporting their own news with advertising.

1937: BBC radio sets up Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese services

In 1937, the British government, using BBC radio as a diplomatic tool, set up Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese services.

1937: Red China News Agency renamed Xinhua News Agency

In 1937, the Chinese Communist Party renamed the Red China News Agency to Xinhua News Agency.

1939: Radio news considered more accurate than newspapers

By 1939, 58% of Americans surveyed by Fortune considered radio news more accurate than newspapers, and 70% chose radio as their main news source.

1942: U.S. sets up Office of War Information

In 1942, the U.S. set up its Office of War Information which sent programming across South America, the Middle East, and East Asia.

1945: New Yorkers exhibit addiction to news during newspaper strike

In 1945, a study by sociologist Bernard Berelson found that during the New York newspaper strike, New Yorkers exhibited a virtual addiction to news, feeling "lost", "nervous", "isolated", and "suffering" due to the withdrawal.

1949: Xinhua News Agency becomes official news agency of the People's Republic of China

In 1949, the Xinhua News Agency became the official news agency of the People's Republic of China.

1955: Voice of America surpasses Britain's radio network

By 1955, the worldwide Voice of America programs, produced by the United States Information Agency, surpassed Britain's radio network in scope.

1964: Inter Press Service founded

In 1964, the Inter Press Service was founded to serve as an intermediary for Third World press agencies, favoring coverage of events related to inequality, economic development, and sustainable development.

1969: Moon landing

In 1969, the Moon landing was a significant news event in the United States.

1975: Experimental satellite television system implemented in India

In 1975, the United States Agency for International Development, NASA, and UNESCO implemented an experimental satellite television system in India, known as the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, with assistance from the Indian Space Research Organisation and All India Radio.

1976: Experimental satellite television system implemented in India

In 1976, the United States Agency for International Development, NASA, and UNESCO continued the implementation of an experimental satellite television system in India, known as the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, with assistance from the Indian Space Research Organisation and All India Radio.

1979: Capture of American hostages in Iran dominated news coverage

In 1979, the capture of American hostages in Iran dominated months of news coverage in the western media, gained the status of a "crisis", and influenced a presidential election.

1980: Soviet Union surpassed US in broadcasting

Around 1980, the Soviet Union briefly surpassed the United States as the world's top broadcaster by some accounts.

1980: Ted Turner creates CNN

In 1980, Ted Turner's creation of the Cable News Network (CNN) inaugurated a new era of 24-hour satellite news broadcasting.

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1980: MacBride report called for an interdependent global news system

In 1980, the MacBride report, titled "Many Voices, One World", called for an interdependent global news system with more participation from different governments. UNESCO also formed the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool that year.

1981: Michael Bloomberg founds Bloomberg LP

Bloomberg LP, a private company founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, made rapid advances with computerized stock market reporting updated in real time.

1986: Space Shuttle Challenger explosion

In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion was a significant news event in the United States.

1987: U.S. media reported on a riot in the Dominican Republic

In 1987, the U.S. media reported on a riot in the Dominican Republic, marking the first major news item regarding that country in years. The resulting decline in tourism lasted for years and had a noticeable effect on the economy.

1989: Tiananmen Square incident

In 1989, communications media enabled instant exposure to and discussion of the Chinese government's actions in Tiananmen Square. The news about Tiananmen Square travelled over fax machine, telephone, newspaper, radio, and television, and continued to travel even after the government imposed new restrictions on local telecommunications.

1990: News story about Iraqi soldiers taking babies out of incubators

In 1990, a news story emerged about Iraqi soldiers taking "babies out of incubators" in Kuwaiti hospitals, illustrating how public relations can dovetail with state objectives.

1991: BBC introduces BBC World Service Television

In 1991, the BBC introduced a competitor, BBC World Service Television.

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1992: US wages Gulf War with media coverage

Combining embedded reporters and non-stop media coverage, the United States waged the 1991–1992 Gulf War.

1994: Netscape browser released

The early internet, known as ARPANET, became available to a wider public with the release of the Netscape browser in 1994. A 1994 earthquake in California was one of the first big stories to be reported online in real time.

April 1995: People flock to newsgroups and chatrooms to discuss Oklahoma City bombing

On the day of the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, people flocked to newsgroups and chatrooms to discuss the situation and share information. The Oklahoma City Daily posted news to its site within hours.

April 1996: Al Jazeera emerges as a powerful alternative

In April 1996, the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera emerged as a powerful alternative to the Western media, capitalizing in part on anger in the Arab & Muslim world regarding biased coverage of the Gulf War. Al Jazeera hired many news workers conveniently laid off by BBC Arabic Television, which closed in April 1996.

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1997: Death of Princess Diana

In 1997, the death of Princess Diana was a significant news event in the United States.

2000: Intervention of the Supreme Court in the presidential election

In 2000, the intervention of the Supreme Court in the presidential election was a significant news event in the United States.

2001: Television coverage of the destruction of the World Trade Center

In 2001, television coverage of the destruction of the World Trade Center, which repeated the same footage over and over, led to symptoms of psychological trauma experienced across the United States.

2001: September 11 attacks

In 2001, the September 11 attacks were a significant news event in the United States.

2002: Xinhua growing number of subscribers

In 2002, Xinhua has 16,969 subscribers, including 93% of Chinese newspapers. It operates 123 foreign bureaus and produces 300 news stories each day.

2003: World Summit on the Information Society

In 2003, the World Summit on the Information Society took place, revisiting global information flow issues in light of the internet and emphasizing the role of civil society and the private sector in information society governance.

2005: World Summit on the Information Society

In 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society continued from 2003, further emphasizing the role of civil society and the private sector in information society governance within the context of the internet and global information flow.

2009: Journalists reproduce fictional quotation from Wikipedia

In 2009, a number of journalists were embarrassed after reproducing a fictional quotation originating from Wikipedia, highlighting the problem of circular reporting in the digital age.

2010: Google News redesigned its front page

In 2010, Google News redesigned its front page with automatic geotargeting, which generated a selection of local news items for every viewer.

2011: Thomson Reuters annual revenue

In 2011, Thomson Reuters employed more than 55,000 people in 100 countries, and posted an annual revenue of $12.9 billion.

2012: Twitter declares itself source of news

Twitter declared in 2012: "It's like being delivered a newspaper whose headlines you'll always find interesting—you can discover news as it's happening, learn more about topics that are important to you, and get the inside scoop in real time."

2013: Release of the film Anchorman 2

In 2013, the release of the film Anchorman 2 brought widespread attention to the historical influence of sponsorship on various news stories.

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2013: Print newspapers predicted to vanish in the U.S.

In a 2013 publication, prognosticators have suggested that print newspapers will vanish from the U.S. in 5–20 years.

February 2018: TechCrunch journalist Josh Continue stated company stole the news business

In February 2018, TechCrunch journalist Josh Continue stated that Facebook "stole the news business" and used sponsorship to make many news publishers its "ghostwriters."