Student Scholarship

Document Type

Research Paper

Abstract

This research paper, submitted in January 1951, provides a comprehensive historical and functional analysis of the Associated Press (AP), with a specific focus on its Washington Bureau. The study traces the evolution of news gathering from early 19th-century methods—such as Samuel Topliff’s systematic rowboat collection of European news in 1811and the subsequent use of pony expresses, carrier pigeons, and the telegraph—to the formal establishment of the first co-operative news organization in May 1848. The author details the AP’s survival through intense journalistic wars, legal battles over monopoly charges, and pivotal internal conflicts between New York and Western news factions.

The paper highlights the AP's transition into a non-profit cooperative owned by its member newspapers and radio stations, emphasizing its core principles of accuracy, impartiality, and integrity. It describes the organization's vast mid-century infrastructure, which included nearly 300,000 miles of wire in the U.S. and a global network of bureaus. The Washington Bureau is specifically examined as a vital hub, employing over 135 workers to cover the world's major news center through specialized desks for the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives.

Furthermore, the study explores the technological advancements of the era, such as Wirephoto and radio news services, which modernized news distribution. It concludes with an evaluation based on the 1950 Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) report, which critiqued the organization's reporting on the Korean War and emphasized the need for more specialized expertise and "old-fashioned digging" in Washington journalism.

Publication Date

1-1951

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