History of News in Timeline

News encompasses information about current events disseminated through various media, including word of mouth, print, postal systems, broadcasting, and electronic communication. It can also come from observers and witnesses. The term "hard news" is used to distinguish it from less time-sensitive or in-depth content, often referred to as "soft media."

1902: Britain and the U.S. complete circumtelegraphy

In 1902, 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.

1903: Britain and the 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

In 1904, James Joyce's Ulysses derives from the newspapers of 16 June 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 the Soviet press to adopt "telegraph style"

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

In 1920, radio expanded rapidly across the continent, from 30 stations to a thousand in the 1930s.

1922: British Broadcasting Company begins transmitting radio news

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

May 1926: BBC radio gains importance during general strike

In May 1926, BBC radio gained importance during the general strike, during which newspapers were closed and the radio served as the only source of news for an uncertain public.

1926: NBC radio network established

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

1929: Soviet Union begins international broadcasting

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

1931: Chinese Communist Party creates the Red China News Agency

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

1933: Radio broadcasters negotiate agreement with the press

In 1933, radio broadcasters in the United States negotiated an arrangement with the press, agreeing to use only news from the Press–Radio Bureau and eschew advertising, however this agreement soon collapsed.

1937: British government sets up BBC radio services

In 1937, the British government used BBC radio as a diplomatic tool, setting 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, which later became the official news agency of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

1939: Radio 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 York newspaper strike

In 1945, during the New York newspaper strike, New Yorkers exhibited a virtual addiction to news, describing themselves as "lost", "nervous", "isolated", and "suffering" due to the withdrawal.

1949: Xinhua News Agency becomes official news agency

In 1949, the Xinhua News Agency became the official news agency of the People's Republic of China, after being renamed from the Red China News Agency in 1937.

1955: Voice of America surpasses British radio network

By 1955, 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. It has served as an intermediary for Third World press agencies.

1969: Moon landing

In 1969, the Moon landing was a source of the country's most important news in the United States.

1975: Experimental satellite television system implemented in India

In India, from 1975 to 1976, the United States Agency for International Development, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and UNESCO implemented an experimental satellite television system, called 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

1979: Capture of American hostages in Iran

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 surpasses the United States in broadcasting

Around 1980, the Soviet Union surpassed the United States for a time as the world's top broadcaster.

1980: CNN inaugurated

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 calls for interdependent global news system

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

1981: Bloomberg LP founded

In 1981, Bloomberg LP, a private company founded by Michael Bloomberg, was created to make 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 source of the country's most important news in the United States.

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

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

1989: Tiananmen Square Incident

In 1989, local and global communications media-enabled instant exposure to and discussion of the Chinese government's actions in Tiananmen Square. The news about Tiananmen Square travelled over a 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, demonstrating how public relations can dovetail with state objectives.

1991: BBC introduces BBC World Service Television

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

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1992: Gulf War Coverage

The United States waged the 1991–1992 Gulf War with the assistance of nonstop media coverage.

1994: Netscape browser release

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

April 1995: 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

In April 1996, the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera emerged as a powerful alternative to the Western media.

1997: Death of Princess Diana

In 1997, the death of Princess Diana was a source of the country's most important news 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 source of the country's most important news 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 was a source of the country's most important news in the United States.

2002: Xinhua news agency

In 2002, Xinhua news agency had 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 and 2005, issues relating to global information flow were revisited in light of the internet at the World Summit on the Information Society, a conference which emphasized the role of civil society and the private sector in information society governance.

2005: World Summit on the Information Society

2009: Journalists reproduce fictional quotation from Wikipedia

In 2009, a number of journalists were embarrassed after all reproducing a fictional quotation, originating from Wikipedia.

2010: Google News redesigned 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 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 statement on news discovery

In 2012, Twitter stated that its platform allowed users to discover news as it's happening, learn more about topics that are important to them, and get the inside scoop in real time.

2013: Anchorman 2 film release

In 2013, the film Anchorman 2 was released. The release of the 2013 film Anchorman 2 gained widespread attention following the film's release.

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February 2018: TechCrunch journalist Josh Continue stated Facebook "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."